right to healthy environment - The Legal Chamber

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 aga...

The Supreme Court ruled that ex post facto environmental clearances (ECs) violate environmental jurisprudence and are alien to the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the EIA Notification, 2006. Stressing the precautionary principle and Article 21 (right to a pollution-free environment), the Court struck down the 2017 notification and 2021 OM permitting retrospective ECs, holding them arbitrary and illegal. It reiterated that prior EC is mandatory, and no regularization of violations is permissible, aligning with its earlier judgments in Common Cause and Alembic Pharmaceuticals. The Court barred future exemptions but spared already granted ECs. Facts Of The Case: The case involved multiple writ petitions and a civil appeal challenging the legality of the 2017 notification and 2021 ...

Tag: right to healthy environment

Supreme Court Takes Charge: Major Order to Save Rajasthan’s Polluted Rivers

Supreme Court Upholds Strict Environmental Laws: Prior Clearance Must for Projects, No Retrospective Approvals