{"id":116606,"date":"2026-08-02T00:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T18:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=116606"},"modified":"2026-08-02T00:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T18:55:08","slug":"supreme-court-verdict-on-post-facto-environmental-clearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-court-verdict-on-post-facto-environmental-clearance\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Verdict on Post Facto Environmental Clearance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court has delivered an important judgment on post facto (ex post facto) environmental clearance (EC) by striking down the 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The Court held that prior environmental clearance remains the legal rule for all projects covered under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) framework. At the same time, it clarified that limited post facto environmental clearance may be allowed only in exceptional cases involving overriding public interest through a valid statutory notification.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Post Facto Environmental Clearance?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Post facto (ex post facto) environmental clearance <\/b>refers to <\/span>granting environmental approval after a project has already started construction or operations without obtaining the mandatory prior clearance.<\/b><\/p>\n

Under the <\/span>Environment Impact Assessment<\/span> (EIA) Notification, 2006, projects that can significantly affect the environment must obtain prior environmental clearance before any construction or operation begins. This enables authorities to assess environmental impacts, seek public feedback and prescribe safeguards before irreversible damage occurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Background of the Issue<\/b><\/h2>\n

India\u2019s environmental clearance system is based on the principle that environmental impacts should be assessed before a project begins.<\/span><\/p>\n