On May 16, 2025, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment declaring the government’s practice of granting retrospective (ex-post facto) environmental clearances to infrastructure and industrial projects as illegal. The Court struck down the 2017 notification and the 2021 Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which had permitted such post-facto approvals.

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasized that obtaining prior environmental clearance is a non-negotiable legal requirement under the 2006 Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification. They stated that projects initiated without prior clearance constitute “gross illegalities” and cannot be regularized retrospectively. The Court further restrained the central government from issuing any future circulars or orders that would allow for ex-post facto environmental clearances.

This decision has significant implications for numerous large-scale projects across India, particularly in states like Telangana. Environmentalists have pointed out that major initiatives, such as the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, which commenced without prior environmental approvals, could now face legal challenges and increased scrutiny.

The ruling originated from a petition filed by the Mumbai-based NGO Vanashakti, challenging the legality of the government’s 2021 and 2022 memoranda that permitted post-facto environmental clearances, arguing they violated the mandatory requirement of prior clearance as stipulated in the 2006 EIA Notification.

While the Supreme Court’s decision invalidates the provisions allowing retrospective clearances, it clarified that environmental clearances already granted under the 2017 notification and the 2021 Office Memorandum will remain unaffected.

This judgment reinforces the principle that environmental assessments and public consultations must precede the commencement of any project, thereby upholding environmental governance and accountability.

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