The Supreme Court declined to consider a petition by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, challenging the grant of ex-post facto environmental clearances. Last year, a review petition led to the revival of notifications allowing retrospective clearances. The court questioned the maintainability of Ramesh’s plea, stating it was akin to seeking a review of a previous judgment.
Observing that the petition aimed at challenging decisions already upheld by the court, the Bench highlighted the inappropriateness of filing a writ petition for this purpose. The court emphasized that if the grievance was against a prior verdict, a review petition was the proper recourse, not a writ petition under Article 32. The petitioner’s counsel, sensing the court’s reluctance, requested to withdraw the plea, which was granted.
In a previous ruling, the Supreme Court had nullified notifications permitting retrospective environmental clearances for projects lacking prior approvals under the Environmental Impact Assessment notification. A subsequent review petition led to the restoration of mechanisms for granting ex-post facto clearances. The court noted the potential adverse impact on large-scale projects if retrospective clearances were not reinstated, with dissenting views emphasizing the inconsistency of such clearances with environmental principles.
