THE JUDICIARY-The Ratlam Judgment

THE JUDICIARY The Ratlam Judgment Amrita Abraham IN a historic judgment in July 1980, little noticed outside legal circles, the Supreme Court advanced the cause of citizens' rights in some important ways. The judgment in the Ratlam case (Municipal Council Ratlam vs Vardichand and others) does not have the drama of a Fundamental Rights judgment. But it is important in a down-to-earth way for ordinary people and represents a shift in the focus of traditional civil procedure. The judgment would, therefore, be of rise to activists and others interested in community interest litigation as distinct from legal remedies for the individual complainant.