Supreme Court of India Judgements

37260 Judgements hosted as on 04/06/2026 - Search (FREE), Subscribe, Read & Download

Category: Environment

Environment

Environment Law — Illegal Sand Mining — Supreme Court’s directions for States to file compliance affidavits — Court expresses displeasure at Rajasthan’s lacklustre response and apathy in implementing directions affecting National Chambal Sanctuary — Rajasthan directed to ensure personal presence of senior officers with compliance reports — Court also directs Madhya Pradesh to address issue of unregistered vehicles.

Jun 2, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 549 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH “IN RE: ILLEGAL SAND MINING IN THE NATIONAL CHAMBAL SANCTUARY AND THREAT TO ENDANGERED AQUATIC WILDLIFE” ( Before : Vikram Nath…

Environment

Environmental Law — Forest Conservation — Encroachment — Supreme Court directs stringent measures for eviction of encroachers from Reserve Forests, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Tiger Reserves in Tamil Nadu, emphasizing constitutional obligation to protect ecologically sensitive regions and fragile ecosystems.

May 31, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 605 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH A. JOHN KENNEDY AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.…

Environment

Environmental Law — Environmental Clearance (EC) — Ex-post facto EC — The Supreme Court has held that the concept of ex-post facto Environmental Clearance is alien to Indian environmental jurisprudence and struck down notifications allowing it — However, in cases where industries were established based on Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) granted by Pollution Control Boards (PCBs) which were themselves unaware of the prior EC requirement, and the industries have subsequently applied for EC, the Court may allow them to operate while the EC process is pending, to avoid economic and livelihood impacts if no actual pollution is caused or norms are otherwise met.

May 11, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 455 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NEETU SOLVENTS Vs. VINEET NAGAR AND OTHERS ( Before : J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No.…

Environment

Judicial Review and Public Interest Litigation — Court’s Directions for Wildlife Conservation — The Supreme Court issued detailed directions based on the CEC’s report, including the acceptance of all recommendations, time-bound relocation of deer under CEC supervision, and adherence to stringent translocation protocols — The court also directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to examine and implement comprehensive guidelines for future wildlife translocations.

Apr 28, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 419 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NEW DELHI NATURE SOCIETY THROUGH VERHAEN KHANNA Vs. DIRECTOR HORTICULTURE DDA AND OTHERS ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta,…

Environment Mining

Environmental Law and Wildlife Protection — Illegal Sand Mining — Supreme Court’s Suo Motu Cognizance — The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of rampant illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, recognizing its severe impact on wildlife habitats, including endangered Gharials. The Court issued notices to concerned states and authorities, highlighting that such destruction of habitats violates environmental protection laws like the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Apr 19, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 380 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH “IN RE: ILLEGAL SAND MINING IN THE NATIONAL CHAMBAL SANCTUARY AND THREAT TO ENDANGERED AQUATIC WILDLIFE.” ( Before : Vikram Nath…

Environment

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 — Section 2 — Forest land — Deemed forest — Master Plan — Statutory plan prevails over subsequent growth of vegetation — Land earmarked for project under an approved Master Plan, which was not forest land at the time of the plan’s inception, cannot subsequently be declared as forest or deemed forest thereby overriding the Master Plan’s statutory force.

Mar 22, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 270 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH NAVEEN SOLANKI AND ANOTHER Vs. RAIL LAND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND OTHERS ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, JJ.…

Environment

National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 — Sections 15, 20 — Environmental compensation — Quantification — Project cost — NGT has discretion to mould relief based on polluter pays principle, scale of offending activity, and capacity of violator — Project turnover or cost can be relevant yardstick for determining compensation — Large scale operations indicate bigger environmental footprint and greater responsibility — Compensation must be rational, proportionate, and reasoned — Mechanical application of turnover or project cost is impermissible. (Paras 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 46.2)

Feb 1, 2026 sclaw

2026 INSC 102 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M/S. RHYTHM COUNTY Vs. SATISH SANJAY HEGDE AND OTHERS ( Before : Dipankar Datta and Vijay Bishnoi, JJ. ) Civil Appeal…

Environment

Environmental Law — Wildlife Protection and Conservation — Protection of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) and Lesser Florican (LF) — Conflict between conservation goals and green energy generation (solar/wind) — Supreme Court modified earlier blanket prohibition on overhead transmission lines based on Expert Committee recommendations to balance non-negotiable preservation of GIB with sustainable development and India’s international climate change commitments — Importance of domain expert advice in policy matters concerning conservation and infrastructure development affirmed. (Paras 6, 14, 15, 60, 61)

Jan 1, 2026 sclaw

2025 INSC 1472 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH M.K. RANJITSINH AND OTHERS Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS ( Before : Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ.…

Constitution Environment

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 21 — Right to Life and Healthy Environment — Environmental Degradation: Pollution of Jojari, Bandi, and Luni Rivers in Rajasthan due to untreated industrial effluents and municipal sewage threatens the lives of 2 million people and the ecosystem — This constitutes a gross dereliction of constitutional duty and a direct constitutional injury — The right to a healthy environment, including pollution-free water and air, is an indispensable facet of the right to life under Article 21, reinforced by Articles 48A and 51A(g) — Judicial intervention is warranted when environmental degradation strikes at the foundation of these guarantees. (Paras 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 28)

Nov 30, 2025 sclaw

2025 INSC 1341 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH IN RE: 2 MILLION LIVES AT RISK, CONTAMINATION IN JOJARI RIVER, RAJASTHAN ( Before : Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.…

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Service

Service Law — Promotion — Entitlement to promotion to Chief Medical Director (Higher Administrative Grade) in Indian Railway Medical Service — Appellant was denied promotion despite being eligible, with a junior officer being promoted instead — Appellant’s case was rejected by the Tribunal and High Court based on her grading in Annual Confidential Reports

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw
Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — Section 29A — Mandate of Arbitrator — Extension of mandate — In the absence of specific statutory provisions, party autonomy and minimal judicial intervention are guiding principles — If a party participates in proceedings and does not object to the extension of mandate, they may be estopped from challenging the award on that ground after it is passed.

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw
Arbitration

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act) — Section 33 and Section 34(3) — Limitation for filing application to set aside arbitral award — Exclusion of time spent in disposal of applications under Section 33 — Court held that period spent in disposal of Section 33 applications by Arbitral Tribunal must be excluded for computing limitation under Section 34(3) of the Act, regardless of whether the Section 33 applications were ultimately allowed or dismissed.

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw
Constitution

Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 14, 15(1), 16, 39(a) & 39(c) — Uttar Pradesh Essential Commodities (Regulation of Sale and Distribution Control) Order, 2016 (2016 Order) — Clause 2(p) — Government Order (G.O.) No — 6 of 2019 — Paragraph IV(10) — Exclusion of married daughter from definition of ‘family’ for compassionate appointment as fair price shop dealer — Held, exclusion is based on gender stereotypes and lacks rational nexus with the object of the scheme, violating Articles 14 and 15(1) of the Constitution — Marital status cannot be the sole criterion for dependency — Dependency is a question of fact.

Jun 4, 2026 sclaw