Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on November 18 revived the legal mechanism that permitted retrospective grant of environmental clearances (EC) for projects that had commenced or expanded without prior approvals under the 2006 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, reported Bar and Bench.
The court allowed a review petition against its May 2025 decision which had quashed a 2017 notification and 2021 Office Memorandum that permitted retrospective grant of ECs. The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice K Vinod Chandran delivered three judgments.
While CJI Gavai and Justice Chandran allowed the review petition, Justice Bhuyan dismissed it with a strong dissent. “There are three judgments…In my judgment, I have allowed the recall. My judgment has been criticised by my brother Justice Bhuyan,” CJI Gavai said. On May 16, a Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka (since retired) and Bhuyan had found that the decision to allow such retrospective clearance was in violation of the orders of the top court.
The court had reasoned that those who carried out polluting development activity without prior environmental approvals would have been well aware that their actions were illegal.
A review petition was later moved by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (CREDAI), arguing that the judgment caused significant hardship to real estate industry and interdependent sectors.
Allowing the review, CJI Gavai said that public projects of Rs20,000 crore will have to be demolished if the clearance is not revived, adding that such demolitions would add to further pollution. CJI Gavai noted that the 2021 OM had been issued in compliance of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions.
