Role of the Judiciary in the Protection of the Environment in India

Abstract

It is a well-established principle that the Indian Constitution protects not only the functioning of the country but also the environment for the welfare of its people who live there. The right to live in a clean, healthy environment is one of the most important and basic rights of every citizen. Increased pollution, a lack of plants and animals, and a high awareness of harmful chemicals in the air are all indicators that environmental problems are getting worse. Even though the Constitution does not explicitly enumerate this right, protecting the environment and preventing accidents that hurt the environment are recognized as rights through judicial interpretation. In many cases, big corporations are to blame for the worsening of environmental degradation; however, courts are often reluctant to punish such powerful companies. In the last few decades, the court system has evolved to help regular people obtain justice. This article discusses several landmark environmental decisions from the past and present to gain a better understanding of corporate social responsibility towards society and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Indian courts over the years. This study further situates Indian environmental jurisprudence within a broader BRICS framework by briefly comparing judicial approaches to environmental protection in countries such as China, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia and other countries that have recently joined the alliance, thereby strengthening the international and comparative dimension of the analysis.