The court emphasized the need for public interest litigations to be motivated by bonafide intentions and moved by responsible persons or body of persons, and warned against the abuse of the process of public interest litigation.

The substance of this writ petition is an anonymous complaint brought in before the notice of this court against the management of M/s. Hindustan Latex Limited, a Government of India undertaking (for short 'the Company'), Normally if an anonymous complaint is received, it will find its place in cesspool. This court will always regard it with disdain. But in the present case, the complaint has -obtained an honoured position since it has been numbered as Letter O. P. by this court under Article 226 of the Constitution, obviously for certain reasons. It contains serious allegations against the management of the Company. It is stated to have been written by certain employees of the Company styling itself as a'public interest litigation'.

2. On receipt of notice from this court, the counsel appeared for the Company. Government Pleader appeared for the State of Kerala. I have heard them at some length.

3. A detailed counter-affidavit has been filed on behalf of the Company. Normally, I have no option except to accept the same because there is nobody before me to controvert or criticize it. There is none to project before this court the other side of its picture. The court is seriously faced with a predicament as to the disposal of the complaint involved in this writ petition because the acceptance of the case in the counter-affidavit would otherwise be interpreted to mean that the Company is absolved of all charges or this court has approved all its 'actions'. It is actually here where the anonymous complaint falls. This court cannot deviate from its normal procedure and act as a prosecutor of the complaint. The law does not permit it; nor does it allow compromise even for goodness. This is one of the inevitable consequences of registering such complaint as "Letter O.P.".

4. In the aforesaid premises, I would prefer to examine the lively question whether public interest litigation arising from anonymous complaint is maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution. No, answer is definite. While saying so, I am fully conscious of the "newly developed-doctrine "public interest litigation (PIL)" recognised by the Supreme Court in various decisions. While entertaining the public interest litigation there is a bounden duty on the part of the Court to examine as to whether such litigations are motivated by the bonafide intentions or are moved by responsible persons or body of persons. The Supreme Court in S.P. Gupta and others v. President of India and others (AIR. 1982 S.C.149 ) moved by renowned Senior Advocates V. M. Tarkunde, Equal M. Chagla, S.P. Gupta and others, gave a cautious warning to courts while dealing with public interest litigation. The following observation is apposite.

"But we must be careful to see that the member of the public, who approaches the court in cases of this kind, is acting fortified and not for personal gain or private profit or political motivation or other oblique consideration. The court must not allow its process to be abused by politicians and others to delay legitimate administrative action or to gain a political objective."

5. In Sachidan and Pandey and an other v. State of West Bengal and others (1987(2) SCC. 295) the Supreme Court observed:

" If courts do not restrict the free flow of such cases in the name of public interest litigations, traditional litigations will suffer and the courts of law, instead of dispensing justice, will have to take upon themselves administrative and executive functions".

In State of Himachal Pradesh v. A Parent of a Student of Medical College (1985(3) SCC 169) the Supreme Court said about the public interest litigations thus:

"This is an innovative strategy which has been evolved by the Supreme Court for the purpose of providing easy access to justice to the weaker sections of the Indian humanity and it is powerful tool in the hands of public spirited individuals ad social action groups for combating exploitation and in justice and securing for the under-privileg