The Supreme Court affirmed that the right to life under Article 21 encompasses a pollution-free environment. Criticizing prolonged state inaction, the Court modified an interim stay on NGT orders to allow enforcement of remedial measures. It constituted a High-Level Oversight Committee to ensure time-bound implementation, underscoring the constitutional duty to protect public health and ecology.
Facts Of The Case:
The case originated from severe and long-standing industrial and sewage pollution in the Jojari, Bandi, and Luni river system in Rajasthan, endangering the health and livelihoods of nearly two million people. The Supreme Court took suo moto cognizance in September 2025 based on a documentary highlighting the crisis. This matter was clubbed with several pending civil appeals against a 2022 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, which had followed detailed recommendations from a monitoring committee chaired by Justice P.C. Tatia. The NGT had issued comprehensive directions for pollution control, including the payment of environmental compensation by authorities like RIICO and municipal bodies. While appeals led to an interim stay on the NGT order, state inaction persisted. In November 2025, the Supreme Court examined a status report from Rajasthan, which admitted infrastructural deficiencies in treatment plants but revealed enforcement actions only began after judicial intervention. The Court found the state’s response belated and inadequate, constituting a violation of the constitutional right to a healthy environment.
Procedural History:
The procedural history of the case is multi-layered, originating from earlier litigation in the Rajasthan High Court. Those petitions were transferred to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which, after extensive fact-finding by a monitoring committee, passed a comprehensive final order with remedial directions in February 2022. Multiple statutory appeals against this NGT order were filed in the Supreme Court, where they were initially stayed. In September 2025, the Supreme Court initiated suo moto proceedings based on a news documentary, subsequently clubbing these pending appeals with its writ petition. After hearing the state’s status report in November 2025, the Court, in its judgment, modified the interim stay on the NGT’s substantive directions to allow enforcement while constituting a High-Level Oversight Committee to ensure implementation.
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Court Observation:
The Supreme Court made several critical observations, centering on constitutional and environmental law. It firmly reiterated that the right to a clean, healthy, and ecologically balanced environment is an integral and non-negotiable facet of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Court strongly condemned the prolonged and systemic administrative apathy and regulatory failure of the State of Rajasthan, noting that the belated flurry of action was triggered solely by judicial intervention and amounted to a dereliction of constitutional duty. It observed that the existing sewage and effluent treatment infrastructure was grossly inadequate and emblematic of a systemic failure, leading to continuous ecological degradation and injury to public health. The Court held that allowing the stay on the National Green Tribunal’s remedial orders to persist would defeat the very purpose of environmental statutes and perpetuate illegality, thus necessitating immediate and scientifically supervised implementation through a dedicated oversight mechanism.
Final Decision & Judgement:
The Supreme Court delivered a multifaceted judgement to enforce environmental restoration. It modified the interim stay on the National Green Tribunal’s 2022 order, lifting it for all substantive remedial directions while keeping remarks and compensation under consideration. The Court constituted a High-Level Ecosystem Oversight Committee, chaired by a retired High Court judge, with broad powers to oversee implementation, audit infrastructure, map pollution sources, and ensure time-bound river rejuvenation. It directed all state authorities and industries to cooperate fully with the Committee, which must submit regular status reports to the Court. The judgement mandates urgent action, framing the directives as arising from the constitutional duty to protect the right to life and a healthy environment for present and future generations.
Case Details:
Case Title:In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan Appeal Number(s): Civil Appeal Nos. 5517-5519 of 2022 Date of Judgement: November 21, 2025. Judges/Justices Name: Justice Sandeep Mehta & Justice Vikram Nath
Download The Judgement Here