• The authority of a court or judicial body to initiate legal proceedings on its own accord, without a formal petition or party filing a case.
  • Courts often exercise their suo moto jurisdiction by taking up matters based on media reports or acting on letters written to them.
  • Under Articles 32 and 22,6 the case can be initiated by the Supreme Court and the High Court, respectively.
  • The basic motivation behind suo moto powers is to empower the courts to act swiftly and efficiently.
  • Protection of Fundamental Rights by the Supreme Court will ensure the protection of the constitutional rights of the citizens. This can be done through the Suo Moto initiation of cases.
Please think whether PIL(Public Interest Litigation) and the Suo Moto power of courts are the same. We shall update in the forthcoming notes.

 

Source: The Hindu