'Damning indictment of govt': Congress on SC barring granting of retrospective environmental clearances

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday hailed the Supreme Court decision striking down the measures enabling the grant of ex-post facto environmental clearances and said it was a "damning indictment" of the Modi government whose domestic walk is completely at variance with its global talk on environmental protection.

The Supreme Court last Friday said the right to live in a pollution free atmosphere was a part of the fundamental right as it struck down the Centre’s office memorandum allowing ex post facto or retrospective environmental clearances to projects in violation of norms.

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan made scathing remarks in its judgement delivered on a plea filed by Vanashakti organisation and said, "The Union Government, as much as individual citizens, has a constitutional obligation to protect the environment.” Former environment minister Ramesh hailed the judgement which he claimed was a "damning indictment" of the Modi government.

"In a landmark decision reaffirming the principles and practices of sustainable development, the Hon’ble Supreme Court on May 16, 2025 struck down the Modi Government’s measures enabling the grant of ex-post facto environmental clearances. It declared such clearances illogical and illegal," Ramesh said.

The Supreme Court held that the 2017 notification issued by the Modi government had the sole purpose of shielding violators who knowingly did not secure the mandatory requirement of prior environmental clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, he said.

"It further ruled that the 2017 Notification and the 2021 Office Memorandum jointly violated binding precedents, encouraged polluters, and legitimised the degradation of air and water quality—blatantly infringing upon the fundamental right to a clean environment guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution," Ramesh said.

"Pre-emptively disallowing for all measures granting ex-post facto environmental clearance in any manner, the Supreme Court noted 'it is not possible to understand why the Central Government made efforts to protect those who committed illegality by not obtaining prior EC in terms of the EIA notification'," he said.

Ramesh claimed that the judgment is a "damning indictment" of the Modi government whose domestic walk is "completely at variance" with its global talk as far as environmental protection is concerned.

The court said it "must come down very heavily" on the Centre's attempt to do "something which is completely prohibited under the law".

It added, "Cleverly, the words ex post facto have not been used, but without using those words, there is a provision to effectively grant ex post facto EC. The 2021 OM has been issued in violation of the decisions of this court…." The bench, therefore, declared the 2021 office memorandum (OM) and related circulars “arbitrary, illegal, and contrary to the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006".

The Centre, as a result, was restrained from issuing directions for grant of ex post facto clearances in any form or manner or for regularising the acts done in contravention of the EIA notification.