Supreme Court Revives Retrospective Environmental Clearances; Justice Bhuyan Dissenting

In a significant environmental-law decision, the Supreme Court has revived the mechanism for granting retrospective environmental clearances (EC) to projects that had begun or expanded without prior approvals, thus reversing its May 2025 judgment that had struck down such ex-post facto clearances. The Court allowed a review petition filed by real estate developer body CREDAI, which argued that invalidating such clearances would lead to the demolition of public projects worth ₹20,000 crore. However, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan strongly dissented, warning that reinstating retrospective ECs undermines core environmental jurisprudence. He argued that allowing post-facto clearances erodes the principle that legal compliance must precede development and contended that the majority’s decision sanitises environmental violations by incentivising non-compliance. His dissent underscores tension between environmental protection and developmental urgency.