New Delhi, A group of 72 lawyers, law students, law professors, law scholars and law-trained activists have written an open letter to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, demanding the withdrawal of the Supreme Court’s recent observations on the practice of filing petitions to stop development projects.
“Show us even one project in this country where these so-called environmental activists have said we welcome this project,” a panel comprising the CJI and Justice said on May 11.
The letter, released Tuesday, states that the remarks unfairly cast aspersions on citizens, communities and concerned groups that advocate for the environment, within the framework of the law, legal institutions and case law that the Supreme Court has developed over decades.
The signatories of the letter are members of the National Alliance for Justice, Accountability, and Rights, a platform for legal professionals.
“We write because the observations made extend beyond the outcome in a single case. They relate to a broader jurisprudential shift: from viewing environmental litigation as an integral part of constitutional governance to treating it as a suspected form of obstruction,” the letter said.
She added that the observations also relate to the shift from recognizing citizens as executors of legal duties, to rejecting them as “so-called environmental activists.”
Also, from subjecting environmental decision-making to rule-of-law scrutiny, to deferring to project authorizations and administrative expertise, even when the record reveals inconsistencies, omissions and unresolved public concerns.
The letter asked the CJI to reaffirm a body of environmental jurisprudence and constitutional values.
These include, for example, environmental political impeachment laws and appeals to the National Green Tribunal as constitutional and legal enforcement actions, rather than as “supposedly motivated attempts to obstruct development.”
To also ensure that NGT decisions are given appropriate weight while remaining subject to appellate review on substantive questions of law under Section 22 of the NGT Act, according to the letter.
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