Environmental Jurisprudence in India - The role of Supreme Court

Resumen

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Introduction. Conclusion.

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Environmental Jurisprudence in India - The role of Supreme Court

Introduction

"When you are in doubt, think of the most weak and deprived member of society and consider whether the line of action you propose to take is going to benefit him in any manner and to what extent "1

Indian environmental law has seen considerable development in the last two decades. Most of the principles under which environmental law works in India today were assembled over the last two-decade. A predominant share of essence of the existing law relating to the environment has developed through careful judicial thinking in the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the States legislative initiative 2. The legislative action could be seen form Forty-second Amendment3 to the Indian Constitution in 1976 introduced principles of environmental protection in an explicit manner and also the enactment of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.There have been initiatives from the legislature and the executive but the judiciary has taken a lead in terms of the actual immediate effect its actions have had on the environment. If the mere enactment of laws relating to the protection of environment were to ensure a clean and pollution free environment, then India would, perhaps, be the least polluted country in the world4. Failure on the part of the governmental agencies to effectively enforce environmental laws and non-compliance with statutory norms by polluters resulted in an accelerated degradation of the environment. Such large-scale environmental degradation and adverse effects on public health prompted environmentalists and residents of polluted areas, as well as non-governmental organizations, to approach the courts, particularly the higher judiciary, for suitable remedies5. In the process of adjudication on the environmental matters the Supreme Court have actually come up with the new pattern of "judge -driven implementation"6of environmental administration in India. The court have played a pivotal role in interpreting those laws and has successfully isolated specific environmental law principles upon the interpretation of Indian s...

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