Locus standi is a Latin concept, meaning "place of standing," and refers to the legal right or capacity of a party to appear and be heard before a court. Traditionally, this doctrine was strictly interpreted, requiring a litigant to be an "aggrieved person" who had suffered a direct, substantial, and specific legal injury to initiate a lawsuit. This classical rule was intended to prevent courts from being overwhelmed by frivolous claims and to ensure judicial resources focused on resolving disputes between directly affected parties.
The concept underwent a transformative change in Indian jurisprudence in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the rise of Public Interest Litigation (PIL). This shift was pioneered by judges like Justice P.N. Bhagwati and Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer to solve the problem of marginalized groups—the poor, illiterate, or disabled—being unable to access justice for violations of their fundamental rights.
The mechanism for this change was the relaxation of the strict locus standi rule. In the landmark case of S.P. Gupta v. Union of India (1981), the Supreme Court held that any member of the public acting bona fide could file a petition under Article 32 (Supreme Court) or Article 226 (High Courts) to seek judicial redress for a legal wrong or injury caused to a person or group who cannot approach the court themselves. This liberal approach was also seen in Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar (1979), where a third party was allowed to move the court for the release of undertrial prisoners, establishing that the right to speedy trial is part of Article 21 (Right to Life).
The expansion of locus standi connects directly to the constitutional provisions of Article 32 and Article 226, which grant writ jurisdiction to the Supreme Court and High Courts, respectively. While the traditional rule remains for private law actions, the expanded rule for PIL has stayed the same since the 1980s, though the judiciary has cautioned against its misuse for "Private Interest Litigation" or "Publicity Interest Litigation".