{"id":46711,"date":"2025-05-17T05:19:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T23:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=46711"},"modified":"2025-05-18T00:55:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T19:25:39","slug":"supreme-court-strikes-down-ex-post-facto-environmental-clearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-court-strikes-down-ex-post-facto-environmental-clearance\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Strikes Down Ex-Post Facto Environmental Clearance"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Evolving Environmental Jurisprudence in India\u00a0Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Key Highlights of the Supreme Court Judgment<\/li>\n<li>Constitutional and Legal Framework<\/li>\n<li>Violation and Institutional Lapses<\/li>\n<li>Implications of the Verdict<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<li>Evolving Environmental Jurisprudence in India FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Evolving Environmental Jurisprudence in India\u00a0Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In a significant ruling aimed at strengthening environmental governance in India,\u00a0<strong>the Supreme Court declared illegal<\/strong>\u00a0the Ministry of Environment\u2019s 2017 notification and 2021 Office Memorandum (OM).<\/li>\n<li>They\u00a0<strong>allowed ex-post facto\/ retrospective environmental clearance (EC)<\/strong>\u00a0for projects that commenced without prior approval.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The judgment r<strong>einforces the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006<\/strong>, and upholds the constitutional right to a pollution-free environment under\u00a0<strong>Article 21<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Key Highlights of the Supreme Court Judgment<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Striking down of 2017 notification and 2021 OM:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The 2017 notification\u00a0<strong>granted a six-month amnesty<\/strong>\u00a0for projects operating without prior EC.<\/li>\n<li>The 2021 OM introduced a\u00a0<strong>Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)<\/strong>\u00a0for<strong>\u00a0dealing with violation cases.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The Court ruled that\u00a0<strong>both instruments are illegal<\/strong>, as they seek to<strong>\u00a0regularize violations<\/strong>\u00a0of the EIA Notification, 2006.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prior EC is mandatory:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Reiterating past precedents like\u00a0<strong>Common Cause v. Union of India (2017)<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Alembic Pharmaceuticals v. Rohit Prajapati (2020)<\/strong>, the Court emphasized that prior EC is\u00a0<strong>non-negotiable<\/strong>\u00a0under environmental law.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Projects starting without it<\/strong>\u00a0are in gross violation of the law and\u00a0<strong>harm societal and ecological interests.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>No more ex-post facto EC:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The judgment\u00a0<strong>bans\u00a0<\/strong>any future circulars or memoranda granting\u00a0<strong>retrospective\u00a0<\/strong>environmental clearance.<\/li>\n<li>SC warned that courts must take\u00a0<strong>strict action against violators<\/strong>\u00a0to deter environmental degradation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Constitutional and Legal Framework<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fundamental rights and duties:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Article 21<\/strong>\u00a0guarantees the right to life in a pollution-free environment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Article 51A(g)\u00a0<\/strong>outlines the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the environment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Legal framework:\u00a0<\/strong>The Environment (Protection) Act,\u00a0<strong>1986\u00a0<\/strong>is designed to enforce these rights and duties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Role of courts:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court affirmed that it is the duty of constitutional courts\u00a0<strong>to protect the environmental rights of citizens.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>This was also reiterated by the court in &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The\u00a0M.C. Mehta\u00a0case (lays down the concept of \u2018absolute liability\u2019),\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>Godavarman Thirumulpad<\/strong>\u00a0case (redefined the concept of \u2018forests\u2019) and<\/li>\n<li>The recent (2024) case where SC ruled that citizens have a \u201c<strong>right against the adverse effects of climate change<\/strong>\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>This means\u00a0<strong>development cannot come at the cost of the environment<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Violation and Institutional Lapses<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Widespread abuse of the 2017 and 2021 policies:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Over 100 projects were granted ECs under the \u201cviolation category\u201d including:\n<ul>\n<li>Coal (benefitted Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, etc), iron, bauxite mines<\/li>\n<li>Cement plants (Jaypee Cement, etc), distilleries<\/li>\n<li>Steel and iron factories<\/li>\n<li>Major hospitals, hotels (Hotel Leela Venture Ltd, etc), real estate projects<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>At least 150 other projects were issued Terms of Reference (ToR) for environmental impact assessments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Institutional lapses:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC)<\/strong>\u00a0met 46 times between 2017\u20132021 to process these violation cases.<\/li>\n<li>The Ministry argued ex-post EC was in line with the\u00a0<strong>polluter pays principle<\/strong>, but the Court rejected this reasoning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Implications of the Verdict<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Existing clearances not affected:\u00a0<\/strong>Environmental clearances already granted under the now-invalidated instruments will remain valid.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Closure of loopholes:\u00a0<\/strong>The \u201cex-post facto\u201d route is now permanently closed,\u00a0<strong>aligning with global best practices in environmental protection.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Strengthening environmental governance:\u00a0<\/strong>This decision reaffirms that legal compliance is non-negotiable, and industries cannot operate outside regulatory frameworks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Supreme Court\u2019s verdict<strong>\u00a0sends a clear message<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211;\u00a0<strong>development\u00a0<\/strong>must not come at the cost of\u00a0<strong>environmental integrity<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Upholding the principle of prior clearance, it reiterates the\u00a0<strong>importance of accountability<\/strong>\u00a0in the use of natural resources.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>As environmental degradation worsens, particularly in urban centers like Delhi, such rulings will be critical in ensuring that\u00a0<strong>economic growth remains sustainable<\/strong>\u00a0and legally compliant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Evolving Environmental Jurisprudence in India FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong>\u00a0What was the key issue addressed by the Supreme Court in its 2025 judgment related to environmental clearance?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans<\/strong>. The Supreme Court struck down the 2017 notification and 2021 Office Memorandum that allowed ex-post facto environmental clearance, terming them illegal and against the EIA Notification 2006.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.\u00a0<\/strong>How does the judgment reinforce Article 21 of the Indian Constitution?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.\u00a0<\/strong>The Court upheld that the right to live in a pollution-free environment is part of the right to life under Article 21, and retrospective clearances violate this fundamental right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong>\u00a0Why did the Supreme Court find the 2021 Office Memorandum (OM) problematic in the context of environmental governance?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong>\u00a0The 2021 OM attempted to regularize long-standing violations of EIA norms, even after 15 years of its implementation, undermining environmental accountability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong>\u00a0What principle of environmental law was central to the Court&#8217;s reasoning in rejecting ex-post facto ECs?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong>\u00a0The judgment emphasized the precautionary principle and the requirement of prior clearance, asserting that ex-post facto approvals contradict environmental jurisprudence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong>\u00a0What are the broader implications of this ruling for environmental impact assessment in India?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.\u00a0<\/strong>The ruling closes the door on retrospective approvals, strengthens the legal mandate for prior EC, and upholds judicial vigilance in environmental protection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/supreme-court-strikes-down-ex-post-facto-environmental-clearances-to-building-projects-constructions\/article69584582.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a>\u00a0| <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/sc-government-notification-retrospective-green-clearances-projects-10010130\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SC strikes down 2017 notification &#038; 2021 OM allowing ex-post facto environmental clearance, ruling such approvals for projects without prior EC as illegal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}