Judicialization of Environmental Issues in India

Abstract: Indian judiciary primarily the Supreme Court and the High Courts has been a remarkably active force in environmental governance. Its interventions include relaxing the procedural doctrine of locus standi, expanding the scope and accessibility of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), incorporating international environmental principles (the polluter pays principle, the precautionary principle, and the public trust doctrine) into domestic jurisprudence, recognising the right to a clean environment as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, and creating institutional structures such as green benches. This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the procedural and substantive dimensions of judicial intervention in environmental matters. It addresses three central questions: why and how does the Indian judiciary intervene in environmental disputes? What has been the nature and extent of its contributions to environmental jurisprudence? And to what extent have its interventions succeeded in delivering environmental justice? The arguments are grounded in a qualitative doctrinal analysis of landmark Supreme Court and High Court judgments and a review of relevant secondary literature.