The non-profit organisation was one of the petitioners in the electoral bonds case in the Supreme Court. Other key litigations include the 2G spectrum case and the coal scam.
In February, a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court deemed the Electoral Bonds Scheme as “unconstitutional”. While the lead petitioner — Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) — is largely credited with the verdict, another non-profit organisation Common Cause was ADR’s partner in challenging the scheme to protect voters’ right to information.
Described by a member as an organisation that went from being “a one-horse carriage to a team effort”, Common Cause, founded in 1980, is an active advocate for the cause of public welfare, civil liberties and governance reform in India. It works to bring attention to key issues through public interest litigation, research, and advocacy.
Its founder H.D. Shourie was a civil servant for 35 years and “an agent of civil action for over 25”, its website reads. Initially, Common Cause functioned under his sole leadership. He managed all aspects — from research to court hearings — with minimal assistance from his typewriter.
Moved by the plight of war widows, Shourie took on his first fight as an activist against pension liberalisation that excluded pensioners, who retired before 1979. He started by writing to the government and newspapers, gathering 15,000 letters from affected pensioners.
After his appeals were denied, he filed a writ petition with the help of a lawyer in 1981. That was when he did not even know what a writ petition was. After two years, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Common Cause, impacting the lives of 4 million pensioners, according to its website.
The electoral bonds case may have put the spotlight on Common Cause, but Vipul Mudgal, the director of the organisation, believes that they were not that popular with the previous government either.
“We were co-petitioners with the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) in the 2G spectrum case and ‘Coalgate’. The Congress government was quite beleaguered because it highlighted the widespread corruption in the country, and our petitions were partly responsible for that. We are seen as equally irritating for both the governments,” he says.
In both those cases, the apex court ruled in favour of the joint petitions. The court revoked the allocation of 214 out of 218 coal blocks granted since 1993 in the coal scam case. All 122 spectrum licences, granted to telecom companies during A. Raja’s term as the communications minister, were cancelled in the 2G case.
Mudgal, a former journalist, points out there have been other cases that were more important, apart from these so-called political cases. In 1992, Common Cause filed a PIL highlighting significant issues in the collection, storage and distribution of blood by various blood centres across the country.
It requested the government and regional authorities to take prompt and effective measures to address malpractices, inefficiency and shortcomings of blood banks nationwide, while urging the court to mandate a concrete and time-bound plan to improve the operations of blood banks.
Two years on, the Supreme Court ruled that the Union Government and the states and Union Territories should ensure that all blood banks in the country are duly licensed within one year. The court said that if a blood bank was found ill-equipped and remained unlicensed, its operations would be halted through legal action.
Another monumental judgment came in 2023 when the Supreme Court acknowledged the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right and set guidelines for terminally ill patients to exercise this right.
“Common Cause played a major role in shaping the instrument of PIL. While it is not the sole organisation responsible for its development, Common Cause made substantial contributions to advancing this legal mechanism,” says Kamal Kant Jaswal, a member of the governing council of Common Cause.
Section 66A of the Information Technology Act being struck down, and the imposition of penalty on illegal mining in Odisha are among other legal victories of Common Cause.
According to its website, Common Cause uses democratic instruments available to citizens to address civic, environmental and developmental challenges, arising from a lack of transparency and accountability in the system. The non-profit body also brings out the Status of Policing in India Report — the first of which was brought out in 2018 — with funding and support from Tata Trusts.
Mudgal says that the organisation gave up its registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), which, according to him, is “one provision through which the government can harass public interest organisations”.
“We had FCRA for almost 20 years, but we never took foreign money. We thought someday we would apply for big grants from big agencies, but we never ended up doing that. After filing these petitions in the 2G and coal scam cases, we realised it would be best for us to surrender this,” he explains to ThePrint.
Common Cause’s funding comes from three primary sources. First, it earns rental income from a portion of their building leased to a bank, which accounts for a small share of their total revenue. Secondly, as a member-based organisation, it receives donations from their public-spirited members and supporters, typically ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. They also receive grants from select donors, who finance their programmes.
However, Mudgal, who happily took a salary cut to join Common Cause, points out how the funders are now withdrawing, which is a key challenge.
“Political parties and politicians often view us unfavourably, with some accusing us of serving private interests rather than the public good. These unfounded criticisms cause significant harm to our reputation, but what can you do?” he adds.
He also notes how the shrinkage of staffing resources has been mitigated by the support of a few top-tier pro bono lawyers, such as Dushyant Dave, Prashant Bhushan and Kamini Jaiswal. These attorneys offer their services free of charge, providing a “lifeline” for the organisation.
After Shourie passed away on 28 June 2005, the team came to be led by a governing council, consisting of former civil servants, who have served in higher ranks at different times.
Jaswal, who served in the Uttar Pradesh cadre of the Indian Administrative Service for over 36 years until October 2004, outlines the workflow. He explains that ideas often come from its associates or legal teams, both inside and outside the organisation. Once a proposal is formulated, it is subjected to rigorous debate within the governing council.
“Our open democratic structure allows individuals to freely express their views, including differing opinions. Decisions are made collectively, and sometimes proposals are dismissed in favour of addressing broader issues with a wider impact rather than specific individual concerns. Given our limited resources, we prefer to focus on matters of greater significance,” Jaswal elucidates.
The organisation that started from a small dining table in H.D. Shourie’s house, as told by his daughter, journalist Nalini Singh, has become a champion of public causes.
Eminent jurist and veteran SC advocate late Fali Nariman had written in one of his articles in The Indian Express how Shourie always used capital letters for his “favourite brainchild”, COMMON CAUSE.
“He had a fine manner with Judges — never rude, never impolite but yet firm and resolute, making his case point by point. Alas, we will not see the likes of him again, and I for one will sorely miss him. A great old oak has fallen — and the forest of public causes will never quite be the same,” Nariman wrote.
The “romance” that began with Shourie has been kept alive by a team committed to defend the rights of the Indian citizens.
“It continues to be our motivating force. There is an element of romance in our involvement with public causes. It’s not always combative; when we do engage in conflict, it’s driven by our passion. We love what we do and we keep doing it. We have the ability to bring about change,” Jaswal says.
Mudgal says they have received their fair share of inquiries and notices. “After filing a case against numerous companies for over-invoicing power equipment and coal, we received a steady stream of inquiries from various sources. At least 15 to 20 companies, including the Adani Group, appeared to have benefited from this practice. We received numerous phone calls and visitors asking about the case, seeking clarity,” he explains.
When asked what keeps the Common Cause charged despite all the challenges, he simply remarks, “It’s the romance with public causes that keeps us going. We focus on public life because ‘Savdhaani Hati, Durghatna Ghati’ (roughly translates into prevention is better than cure).”
