Environment and Sustainable Development

Abstract

Protection of the environment as a concept is not a recent one and has been around since prehistoric times. In the ancient scriptures, it is said to be a responsibility (Dharma) of every human to protect nature. Lately, the movement to make sure the environmental policies are being implemented to focus on various issues such as check on pollution, protecting the wildlife and saving the forest has been focused more by the higher levels of the judiciary. These recent activisms have taken place from the legal and judicial bodies due to lack of implementation of the policies and absence of required skill amongst the executive offices. PIL( Public Interest Litigation) is one of the most used devices that has been relied upon to take care of the environmental issues, and this methodology has attracted both supporters as well as it has been criticized as well. Before the period of the 1980s, the doors of the judiciary were only available to those people who were affected could seek justice for whatever wrong has happened to them and also on behalf of any other person who was not able to seek the same, basically acting as an intermediary. The Legal system in India saw an immense change in the field of Environmental Law by phasing out the old methods and forming a new system in order to give justice fast and accurately. This period in the 1980s experienced a lot of activism by the legal, administrators and policymakers.

This paper critically evaluates the evolution of India’s environmental jurisprudence through the device of the Public Interest Litigation device and the role of the activist judiciary.