Gobinda Mukhoty: People's Advocate for Constitutional Justice

Gobinda Mukhoty was an Indian lawyer who practised before the Supreme Court of India. He was a pioneering figure in the development of public interest litigation (PIL) in India. Born in Faridpur district of the undivided Bengal, he was a founding member and long-serving President of the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), the civil liberties organisation. He was designated a Senior Advocate in 1984. Mukhoty was celebrated for making his legal expertise available to those who had no access to the courts: the poor, the marginalised, and victims of state excess, and for advancing PIL as an instrument of constitutional justice. He died on 19 September 1995 after a brief illness from cancer, while still engaged in active litigation on behalf of those whose fundamental rights were at stake.

The role played by Gobinda Mukhoty as the people’s lawyer has been touched upon by Raju Ramachandran in his book “14 Lawyers – Portraits from the Bar”. This article gives a glimpse of his journey in making justice accessible to all.

Gobinda Mukhoty: Early Life and Education

Gobinda Mukhoty was born in 1927 in Faridpur district, which was then part of undivided Bengal (in present-day Bangladesh). He completed his graduation from Presidency College, Calcutta in 1948. In 1957, he went to the United Kingdom to study law, completing his Bar-at-law qualification in 1964. Upon returning to India, he began teaching at St Xavier's College, Calcutta, before eventually transitioning to full-time legal practice.

Legal Career

Gobinda Mukhoty started practicing as a lawyer at the Supreme Court of India in 1971. He was designated a Senior Advocate in 1984, in recognition of his standing at the Bar and his contributions to constitutional and civil rights law.

Gobinda Mukhoty specialised in constitutional law, civil liberties, and public interest litigation. His practice was defined by a commitment to bringing constitutional rights to those who could not otherwise access the courts: bonded labourers, victims of custody deaths, detainees, activists seeking information, and communities threatened by state excess. He argued cases involving the Disturbed Areas Act in Andhra Pradesh, demands for justice for custody death victims in Delhi, the right to information of activists in Bhopal, and the freedom of bonded labourers in Haryana, among many others.

Gobinda Mukhoty's Contribution to Public Interest Litigation

Gobinda Mukhoty played a crucial role in enforcement of public interest litigation as an instrument on behalf of those with no access to the courts. Over fourteen years, he handled over 40 cases for PUDR alone, covering a wide range of issues pertaining to civil liberties. He argued these cases passionately and personally bore the cost of many of them. His work helped institutionalise PIL as a mechanism that allowed public-spirited individuals and organisations to approach constitutional courts on behalf of marginalised groups, expanding the concept of locus standi beyond the directly aggrieved.

Gobinda Mukhoty's article 'Public Interest Litigation' was published in All India Reporter, Volume 71 (1985), pp. 1–4, contributing to scholarly understanding of the PIL mechanism.

Notable Cases of Gobinda Mukhoty

Challenge to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958: As President of PUDR, Mukhoty filed a petition in 1982 challenging the constitutional validity of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. The case was still awaiting a hearing at the time of his death. The matter was reportedly decided by the 5-Judge Supreme Court Bench in Naga People's Movement Of Human Rights v. Union Of India (1997 CaseBase(SC) 1210)
Challenge to the Disturbed Areas Act in Andhra Pradesh: Mukhoty argued before the Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the Disturbed Areas Act. The Supreme Court in P. Rami Reddy And Others vs State Of Andhra Pradesh (1988 CaseBase(SC) 362) viewed prohibition on transfers between non-tribals as a necessary measure to prevent perpetuation of past injustices and to maintain peace and upheld disclosure of title as a reasonable condition.
Hoshangabad Firing Range matter: At the time of his death, Mukhoty was arguing to protect the lives of people living close to an army firing range in Hoshangabad. The case originated as a public interest litigation based on a letter alleging inadequate safety precautions at Indian Army's ammunition test-firing range near Itarsi, State of MP, resulting in deaths and injuries to villagers, mostly tribals, who entered range. Supreme Court in Sudip Mazumdar vs State Of Madhya Pradesh (1994 CaseBase(SC) 249) held the Govt. responsible for establishing safety measures at its ammunition test-firing range and for preventing unauthorized entry and protecting villagers from harm.
Case on PIL locus standi: He was also preparing arguments in a case concerning the right to file public interest litigation, an area in which he had been instrumental in establishing precedent. The Supreme Court in Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs Union Of India (1983 CaseBase(SC) 23) reiterated that the Constitution guarantees right to move Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights by appropriate proceedings but does not restrict who can move court. The Court held that a social organisation concerned with welfare of bonded labourers, has necessary locus standi to invoke Supreme Court jurisdiction u/art. 32 of Constitution on behalf of workmen.
Custodial deaths, bonded labour, and right to information: Multiple cases on behalf of PUDR and individual clients across Delhi, Haryana, and Bhopal.

Public Positions and Civil Rights Work

Gobinda Mukhoty was actively associated with the People's Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights from its formation in 1976 during Emergency period. The very year, he was elected as the President of the PUDR (Delhi Unit). He was a founding member of the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and served as its President until 1990, after which he served as an Advisor to PUDR. He held a clear understanding of the role of law in people's struggles, which enabled him to create legal spaces through which those excluded from courts could assert basic constitutional rights.

Publications

Mukhoty, G. (1985). 'Public Interest Litigation'. All India Reporter, 71, 1–4.

Personal Life

Gobinda Mukhoty died at the age of 68 years on 19th September 1995 in New Delhi, after spending a week in a coma following the cancer detection earlier the same year, the source of what had been a nagging back pain for over four years. He was remembered by PUDR for his ever-welcoming smile, his deep concern for the organisation, and the professional and moral standards he embodied. PUDR's memorial noted: “What is gone is part of the best in our bedevilled country” as a tribute to the unstinting intellectual and professional commitment he brought to civil rights work.