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Citizens for Green Doon v. Union of India & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 740Decided 16 Nov 2021
Civil Appeal Nos. 6497-6498 of 2021
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice Surya Kant · Justice Vikram Nath

Background

An environmental group challenged forest and wildlife clearances granted for the widening of National Highway No. 72A through forest land in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, after the Supreme Court had earlier directed it to first approach the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The NGT dismissed the challenge, holding the group was trying to bypass its appellate jurisdiction. During the Supreme Court proceedings, it emerged that the Divisional Forest Officer had actually issued a tree-felling permission on 27 August 2021 that was never put in the public domain, and had even denied its existence when asked under the Right to Information Act.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held the NGT was wrong to dismiss the original application, since the appeal route the NGT insisted on could only be triggered once the tree-felling order was actually disclosed publicly, which had not happened when the appellant first approached the NGT. The Court set aside the NGT's order, restored the matter to the Tribunal for a fresh decision, and gave the appellant liberty to separately challenge the 27 August 2021 felling permission once disclosed. It also ordered an interim stay on further tree-felling until 26 November 2021 pending the fresh NGT proceedings, criticising the lack of transparency around the clearance.

Lesson Learnt

Government authorities must place environmental clearances and permissions in the public domain as required by law; concealing or denying such an order's existence can itself become grounds for courts to revive a citizen's environmental challenge.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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