Supreme Court Resumes Hearing on Retrospective Environmental Clearances

• Supreme Court resumes final hearing on pleas challenging retrospective environmental clearances (EC) for projects violating norms.
• A previous 2:1 majority verdict on November 18 last year allowed retrospective EC, citing potential waste of 'thousands of crores of rupees'.
• Petitioners argue the current legal framework for retrospective clearance is flawed, lacks statutory backing, and the 2017 notification was a 'protem measure' that expired.
• Senior advocates highlighted that 'prior clearance' is a mandatory prerequisite under environmental law, citing Alembic Pharmaceuticals and Common Cause cases.
• Concerns were raised that allowing post-facto clearances conflicts with Article 21 (Right to life) and that the 'proportionality principle' cannot override environmental safety.