India, March 5 -- Public interest litigation (PIL), once a "virtuous weapon" for the weak and oppressed, has now been reduced to suspicion due to its misuse for monetary or publicity gains, Supreme Court judge justice BV Nagarathna said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the launch of a four-volume compilation of the works of legal scholar Upendra Baxi, the judge urged Baxi to write on the deteriorating standards of PILs. "The P in PIL has become what is colloquially known as paisa interest litigation or publicity interest litigation. If there is real public interest, courts certainly respond," she said.

The event marked the unveiling of "Law, Justice, Society," a collection of Baxi's essays, speeches, and articles spanning six decades. The works ...