'Traffic' Ramaswamy And Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

'Traffic' Ramaswamy, a 82 year old, who has a record of around 400 Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in his name has fought valiantly for many reforms and stood against injustice which would have affected the society. For him, Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is tool to set right a wrong. For his age, he is still young and fearless about the consequences of petition which were pending or disposed of by the Madras High Court.

PIL:

Public Interest Litigation is a method through which 'Traffic Ramaswamy' sought many social reforms. Those reforms are beyond the law of the land. The gray area untouched by normal statute had been set right through his PIL.

Why the name 'Traffic' Ramaswamy?

The 82 year old braveheart worked as a weaving master in Binny Mills. In 1971, he quit the job and took up social service as his profession. He got actively engaged in regulating traffic near Parrys corner, Chennai and assisted traffic police. He used to make note of the vehicles that violate traffic rules and forward them to the concerned authorities.

Disowned Man:

For such a great social figure, the family life was never happy. Start from the marriage to till date, he is said to have unusual relationship. His father refused to attend his marriage that he refused to accept dowry from bride. Then, due to his social service activities and public interest litigation, he was despised by people who are against his PIL movement. The family disowned him as he was strong on his principle of social justice. So he decided to stay away from his family to reduce trouble to them. He used to visit his family once in every 15 days.

Threats For Filing PIL:

The strategy of moving PIL has attracted numerous threats from people how possess power and money. The slew of PIL has attracted queue of threats. For the man who values the purpose more than his life, such threats failed to stop him from moving court seeking justice. All he aimed was social reform through judiciary. His trust on judiciary made him move court for almost any issue which is unjust and arbitrary.

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Madras High Court Ban on Fish Cart:

In 2002, the Madras High Court banned plying motorized fishing carts. The order was pronounced in response to PIL filed by the 'Traffic' Ramaswamy. Then the threats resulted in real injury. He lost vision in one of his eyes as a miscreant stabbed him when he was regulating traffic in a busy road. The attack was to seek revenge for the ban on motorized fishing carts plying on the roads.

The Then Chief Justice of Madras High Court ordered police protection to 'Traffic Ramaswamy'. From that day, he is seen with armed police security accompany him all time. the question is "do the gun has bullets or not?"

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Trust On Judiciary:

A man of principle, 'Traffic' Ramaswamy always stood strong against injustice. The fearless stated we don't need to know law to when and for what we need to file Public Interest Litigation (PIL), if we feel discomfort with any move by the government or big shots, just go ahead and file on.