Abstract :
Environmental law is a comparatively new branch of domestic and international law. As such,
the law is under the process of being moulded though it has some fairly well established concepts
and principles. In this process of moulding, both judiciary and legislature has a vital role to play.
Legislature, through 42nd Constitutional amendment, 1976 inserted articles 48(A) and 51(A) in
the Constitution. The insertion of these two articles is significant since they enlarged the scope of
constitution and obligated the State as well as citizens to take steps for environmental protection.
The terminology used in these two articles is also significant. The use of words ‘protect and
improve’ suggests that the State and citizens should not only protect the degradation of
environment but also take positive steps for its betterment.
Supreme Court has played a pivotal role in environmental protection through its landmark
judgments. In Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar (1991), court held under article 21, right to life
also includes right to wholesome environment. Thereby, the court included the right to
wholesome environment as a fundamental right. Further, the court has enunciated many
doctrines such as public trust doctrine, polluter pays principle, precautionary principle, etc.
through its landmark judgement and has rigorously implemented them in a plethora of cases.
However, lack of executive action has led to continued degradation of the environment and it is
extremely difficult to manage development and environmental protection. The difficulty further
increases in case of a country like India which is a developing country and yet to industrialize to
its full potential.
The object of this paper is to analyse the constitutional scheme of environmental laws in India
and the role of Indian Judiciary in shaping the environmental law. The scope of this paper shall
be limited to a brief analysis of the effectiveness of environmental laws in India.
Keyword :
Environment, Constitution, Resource