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Swetab Kumar vs. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2023 INSC 301Decided 27 Mar 2023
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 540 of 2022
Krishna Murari · Sanjay Karol

Background

In 2020, the government had issued an Advisory allowing people to voluntarily declare their possession of exotic live animal/bird species, in exchange for exemption from prosecution: effectively an amnesty scheme, which the Supreme Court upheld in an August 2022 order. After Parliament later amended the Wild Life (Protection) Act in 2022 to bring exotic species under stricter regulation (including possible seizure and prosecution under a new Chapter VB), the petitioner sought clarification on whether this new law could override the immunity earlier granted to those who had made declarations under the 2020 Advisory.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that its August 2022 order required no modification, reaffirming that people who made honest declarations under the 2020 Advisory remain immune from prosecution, including immunity from action under the later 2022 amendment. It reasoned that a new law cannot retroactively criminalize conduct that was lawful when it occurred (citing Article 20(1) of the Constitution, which bars ex post facto criminal punishment), and that it would be unfair to penalize people who relied in good faith on a government scheme that did not warn them of future consequences. The Court also recommended that the government give citizens a fresh window of at least six months to make such declarations before enforcing the new, stricter rules.

Lesson Learnt

A law cannot be applied retroactively to criminalize something that was legal, and lawful, when done, especially when a person acted in good faith based on an official government scheme; protections promised under such a scheme generally survive later legal changes.

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

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