Climate Justice as Constitutional Imperative: Expanding Article 21 to Include Intergenerational Equity and Ecological Rights in India

Abstract

            The escalating climate crisis poses an unprecedented threat to the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. While Indian courts have progressively expanded Article 21 to include the right to a clean and healthy environment, existing jurisprudence remains predominantly intra-generational and anthropocentric. This article argues that climate justice demands a further, constitutionally coherent expansion of Article 21 to explicitly recognize (a) intergenerational equity as a fundamental component of the right to life of future generations, and (b) ecological rights of rivers, forests, and biodiversity as juridical entities worthy of protection in their own right. Through doctrinal analysis of landmark environmental judgments, comparative insights from rights-of-nature jurisdictions, and engagement with principles of constitutional morality and public trust doctrine, the study demonstrates that such expansion is already latent in the basic structure of the Constitution. The article concludes that recognizing intergenerational equity and ecological rights under Article 21 is no longer a policy choice but a constitutional imperative for achieving climate justice and ensuring planetary survival.