Prafulla Chandra Natwarlal Bhagwati ( 21 December 15 June 2017 ) was the 17 th Chief Justice of India, serving from 12 July 1985 until his retirement on 20 December He introduced the concepts of public interest litigation and absolute liability in India, and for this reason is held, along with Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, to be a pioneer of judicial activism in the country.