Judiciary must ensure environmental laws are implemented in letter and spirit: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said India has passed progressive environmental laws that have all along been bypassed and asserted that the judiciary has to ensure that these laws are being implemented in letter and spirit.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X published edited excerpts from a speech Supreme Court judge Ujjal Bhuyan delivered on August 8 at the Vivekananda Kendra, Guwahati.

"This is a very timely and courageous warning by a distinguished serving Judge of the Supreme Court. It has implications for not just the Supreme Court but also for the High Courts and the National Green Tribunal," Ramesh said on X.


The crux of what Justice Bhuyan is saying is that the Supreme Court's consistent inconsistency on environmental impacts, especially of those relating to infrastructure projects, is itself posing a threat to the environment, Ramesh pointed out.

"India has passed progressive environmental laws that have all along been bypassed. The judiciary has to ensure that these laws are being implemented in letter and spirit," the former environment minister said.

In his published piece, Bhuyan said, "When a conscientious citizen approaches the Court with a grievance that a particular project is in breach of environmental norms, what should be the approach of the court? Should the Court throw out the challenge at the threshold by asking aloud almost posing a leading question to itself, whether any development project in India has gone unchallenged?"

"It is true that there are many busy bodies who file frivolous petitions. However, such attempts have been deprecated by the courts, but that cannot be the reason to paint all challengers with the same brush," the judge said.

There are committed environmentalists in our country who continue to espouse the cause of the environment, he said.

"Where would they go if the doors of the courts are closed? According to me, that cannot be the approach of a constitutional court. Instead, the Court should ask: Has the project complied with the environmental norms? The Court should assure itself and citizens that all projects, big or small, infrastructure or otherwise, should comply with environmental norms," Bhuyan said.