Former civil servants raise alarm over Supreme Court’s recent environmental rulings

By A Representative

In a significant intervention regarding India’s environmental future, a group of 79 distinguished former civil servants, organized under the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), issued an open letter on December 28, 2025, expressing "deep anguish" over recent Supreme Court orders. The collective, which includes former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, and former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, warned that the judiciary's recent stance risks dismantling essential ecological safeguards in favor of powerful vested interests.

The CCG’s concerns center on three specific judicial developments that they claim compromise the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The first major point of contention involves the Supreme Court’s November 18 decision to recall a previous May 2025 order. The original May order had struck down the practice of granting "ex-post facto" environmental clearances—essentially regularizing projects that began construction without mandatory prior approval. By recalling this judgment following petitions from real estate and developer associations, the Court has allowed the regularization of such projects to resume. The CCG noted that while a larger bench will eventually settle the law, the current vacancy in regulation rewards violators at a time when Delhi-NCR and North India are facing record-breaking air pollution and extreme climate events.

A second, more localized but ecologically devastating concern involves the Aravalli Hills. The CCG criticized a November 20 order that accepted a new definition of the mountain range, classifying the Aravallis only as landforms rising 100 meters above local relief. Because much of the 670-million-year-old range falls below this height, the group warns that over 90% of the Aravallis could lose environmental protection. This reclassification opens the door for large-scale mining and construction in a region that serves as a vital carbon sink and a natural barrier against the Thar Desert. The former officials warned that this would lead to "state-driven carnage," accelerating desertification, destroying wildlife corridors for leopards and hyenas, and depleting critical aquifers that recharge millions of liters of groundwater for the water-stressed National Capital Region.

The third area of concern focuses on the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), the Supreme Court’s own monitoring body for forest and wildlife matters. The CCG reiterated their long-standing grievance that the CEC has lost its independence and has become a "panel under the influence" of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC). They alleged that the committee now prioritizes the diversion of forest land for industrial use rather than its conservation, pointing out that a member of the CEC was also involved in drafting the controversial 100-meter definition for the Aravallis.

The open letter concludes with a fervent plea to the Supreme Court to uphold the "polluter pays" and "precautionary" principles. The signatories urged the Justices to prioritize the health of Indian citizens and intergenerational equity over the financial interests of corporations. By highlighting the vulnerability of marginalized populations who cannot afford air purifiers and must work in toxic conditions, the CCG called for an urgent judicial return to the role of the ultimate protector of India’s natural heritage and the right to a clean environment.

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