SC RECALLING ITS VANASHAKTI VERDICT RIGHT WAY FORWARD

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court took a balanced view while nixing a smaller bench’s six-month-old Vanashakti verdict, which had barred the Union government from granting post-facto environmental clearances to development projects.

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Through a 2017 notification and a 2021 office memorandum, the government had cleared projects that had either commenced, expanded, or operated without prior approval, which was mandated under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. While a two-judge bench had struck down the government’s workarounds as illegal, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai recalled that verdict by a 2:1 majority. CJI Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran formed the majority, while Justice Ujjal Bhuyan penned a strong dissent. Justice Bhuyan was part of the earlier bench along with Justice Abhay S Oka, whose judgement was quashed.