Environmental Jurisprudence: Expanding the scope of Article 21 and sustainable development

Abstract

 This article examines the development of the Environmental Act in India and its intimate relationship with Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees life. It sees how independent India developed a constitutional and legal framework for independent environmental protection, which begins with early ideas of organic care found in ancient Hindu traditions and exploitative practices in British times. The talks focus on the innovative interpretation of Article 21 of the Supreme Court, including the perception of public trust through seminal decision, pollution payments and precautions and sustainable development in Indian law. This legal development has also been influenced by international environmental agreements and concerns about climate. The study assesses the current interval and provides recommendations for better enforcement and policy stability by analyzing difficulties. This means that the protection of the environment is not only by law, but also by the Constitution and is important for both current and future generations.

Introduction

 The sustainability of life on Earth, biodiversity, and human health are all seriously threatened by environmental degradation. In 2025, disaster like cloudburst in Uttarakhand which led to massive landslides and floods, and flood in Punjab which destroyed the crops and villages highlights vulnerability of people climate change are the real threats that could endanger the lives and livelihood.

Basic human necessities like clean air, drinkable water, and safe housing have been impacted by air and water pollution, climate change, and ecosystem loss brought on by industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, and unchecked resource exploitation.

Given this, the right to a hygienic and healthy environment has become a crucial part of the right to life and dignity on a worldwide scale.

The idea of sustainable development, which aims to balance ecological preservation with economic growth, supports these court rulings. In order to make sure that advancements made today do not jeopardize the requirements of future generations, Indian courts and policy makers are increasingly using this approach to assess projects and laws. A moral and legal basis for protecting the environment is established by the combination of the sustainable development theory and the jurisprudence around Article 21.

History of Environmental Law

 In India, Hindu mythology, the Puranas, Upanishads, and Vedas has described the importance of trees, wildlife, plants and how they are important to human life. In Yajnavalkya Smriti, cutting of the trees are prohibited and whosoever does such acts will be punished. Kautalya in his Arthashastra give emphasis on forest administration and evidence from the Mohenjadaro and Harappa civilizations demonstrated that a tiny population coexisted peacefully with the environment and that their requirements were met in a way that was compatible with it.

The British Government also come up with the legislature; include the enactment of the Shore Nuisance (Bombay and Kolaba) Act, 1853 and the Oriental Gas Company Act, 1857. There are laws aimed at controlling air pollution were the Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act, 1905 and the Bombay Smoke Nuisance Act, 1912. Early laws pertaining to wildlife protection were restricted to certain regions and species, with the goal of conserving biodiversity.

Environment and Indian Constitution

 The Constitution of India originally does not contain any direct Article regarding protection of environment, rights relating to healthy environment or sustainable development maybe at that point of time the framers of the Indian Constitution do not think that it is a problematic issue. However, there few Articles which relates to the public health, agriculture but they were not judicially enforceable. Later after 42^nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976, Indian Constitution has explicit Articles for Environmental protection under Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principled of State Policy (DPSP).

Directive Principled of State Policy (Article 48A) – It is the duty of the state to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.¹

Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) – It is the duty of every citizen of India to protect and enhance the forests, water bodies, wildlife .i.e. the natural environment.²

Evolution of Article 21

 Throughout the years, the Supreme Court has expanded Article 21 from a limited procedural assurance to a comprehensive, life affirming right. The court has adopted a purposeful, human-centric view that upholds the dignity and quality of life itself, departing from its initial emphasis on just physical existence. Even though they are not stated in the Indian Constitution, a number of implied rights- including the right to education, privacy, livelihood, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment- are now protected under Article 21.³ The Public Interest Litigations (PILs) played a crucial role in this expansion, particularly starting in the year 1980s. The judiciary made it possible for organizations and concerned citizens to seek remedies for environmental harms and other social issued by easing the strict norms of locus standi. By doing this, the court firmly established socioeconomic and environmental protections within the purview of Article 21 and acknowledged the right to a pollution-free environment while simultaneously addressing gaps caused by legislative and executive inaction.⁴

Judicial Expansion of Article 21 

Rural litigation and environment Kendra, Dehradun v State of Uttar Pradesh, 1985⁵– In this case Supreme Court ordered for the closure illegal limestone mining because it was causing harm to the environment and affecting the life and health people who are residing nearby.

MC Metha v Union of India, 1987, which is also known as Sriram Fertilizer Case, where the Court established Article 21 as the right to wholesome environment is a basic human right that need to be protected.⁶

Subhash Kumar v State of Bihar, 1991- In this case the Supreme Court held that “The right to life includes the right to enjoy unpolluted air and water.”⁷

MC Mehta v Union of India, 1997⁸ which is also known as Taj Trapezium Case, here the industries in Agra are emitting harmful gases in the environment causing acid rain. Due to the rain monument’s marble are turning yellow. The Court ordered for the closure of the industries and asked to relocate them in other place so that it cannot harm the Taj Mahal.

Sustainable Development and its Key Principles

 The concept of sustainable development was first coined in The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment1972⁹ also known as Stockholm Declaration. The Declaration contains a set of “common principles to inspire and guide the people of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.”

Agenda 21¹⁰ also known as Earth Summit is a commitment to sustainable development. It is monitored by the International Commission on Sustainable Development. It states that the country and the economy should develop along with preservation and conservation of natural resources. Section 2 mentions the “conservation and management of resources for development.”

Principle 3 of Rio Declaration¹¹, Right to development must meet the developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.

Principles of Sustainable Development 

• Public Trust Doctrine

It is the responsibility of the Government/State to take-care the natural resources and avoid over-exploitation of it. The state is under the obligation to effectively and efficiently manage the resources.

Shailesh R. Shah v State of Gujrat (2002),¹² in this case the court affirmed that it is the duty of the state to preserve and protect the natural resources like lake, pond etc. and prevent it from extinction.

• Precautionary Principle

It states that even in the absence of complete scientific knowledge, action should be taken to prevent harm when an activity poses a substantial or irreversible hazard to the environment. This idea has been used by Indian courts to place the onus of proving that their acts are environmentally safe on the developer or polluter.

A.P. Pollution Control Board v M.V. Nayudu, 1999,¹³ in this case two industries are polluting the water. The court held that when industries are polluting the environment Precautionary Principle has to be taken into care. Onus and responsibility to compensate the victim and to maintain the environment is upon the polluter. Even the court does not have the expertise in all the scientific and technical matters. They need a person who has expertise in environmental law to deal with the environmental degradation cases.

• Polluter Pay Principle

Polluters will be held responsible for any pollution or environmental damage they cause. They must compensate both the victim and the environment. It was first presented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 1972, later in Rio Declaration (Principle 16). Our Common Future Bruntland Report gives two principle of justice which are Polluter Pay Principle and Precautionary Principle. In India, after the establishment of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010,¹⁴ Polluter Pay Principle received a statutory recognition.

Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v Union of India (1996),¹⁵ Supreme Court invoked the polluter principle and held that harm caused to the environment extends to not only the to the victims but also to compensate for the restoration of the environmental degradation.

Challenges and Limitations

Numerous legal, institutional, and structural obstacles stand in the way of India’s realization of the right to a clean environment, notwithstanding increasing judicial interpretation and legislative actions. These restrictions pose questions regarding enforcement, balance, and constitutional sufficiency while undermining the efficacy of environmental protection.

One of the biggest problems is the conflict between environmental preservation and economic growth. Deforestation, displacement, and ecological imbalance are frequently the results of infrastructure projects including highway expansion, dam construction, and mining. India has a thorough legislative system (such as the Air and Water Acts and the Environment Protection Act), but institutional inefficiencies, a lack of political will, and corruption make implementation difficult.

Regulatory bodies frequently lack the necessary independence, technical know-how, and manpower.

Recommendation

1. Codify major principles: To create a strong and reliable framework that moves judicial discretion, it is necessary to weave in our laws such as pollutant payments and precautionary principles such as judicial established standards.
2. Strong Regulatory Bodies: To ensure effective enforcement, we need to provide funds to environmental organizations, so that they purchase modern technologies for monitoring the environment degradation.
3. Special Tribunal: To deal with environmental cases we need to establish special courts for speedy trial. Along with Judicial member person with experience and knowledge about the environmental law should be appointed because these cases are complex in nature.
4. Simple legal procedures: We can make it easier legal procedure and reduce the cost of the court so that individuals can easily raise their concern.

Conclusion

The evolution of Indian environmental law demonstrates how Article 21 has evolved an effective tool to environmental protection and sustainable development from a basic right of life. Concepts like pollutant payments and precautionary principles have been incorporated in the constitutional law through bold judicial interpretations, recognizing that human life and dignity rely on a healthy environment.

Yet, ecological balance cannot be ensured by absolute court rulings. In order to bridge the difference between legal objectives and actual circumstances, adequately funded regulatory authorities, good legislation and equally vital to stay involved in public participation. Along with the assistance of the judiciary work, enhancing these sectors will ensure the constitutional assurance of a healthy and clean environment for the present and future generations.

References

¹ Article 48 of Indian Constitution, 1950

² Article 51 of Indian Constitution, 1950

³Jeyakar CS, “A CRITICAL STUDY ON CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING WITH REFERENCE TO ARTICLE 21” (2025) 12 IJRAR.ORG

⁴ Sandip Samanta (2024) ‘The evolving jurisprudence of Environmental Protection in India: A critical analysis of the judiciary’s role.’, International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research, 6(5). doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2024.v06i05.29814.

⁵ Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra v State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1985 SC 652

⁶ MC Metha v Union of India 1987 AIR 1086,1987 SCR(1) 819,1987 SCC(1) 395

⁷ Subhash Kumar v State of Bihar AIR 1991 SC 420

⁸ MC Mehta v Union of India AIR 1997 2 SCC 353

⁹ Nations U, “United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm 1972” (United Nations)

<https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/stockholm1972> accessed September 12, 2025

¹⁰ Nations U, “United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm 1972” (United Nations)

<https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/stockholm1972> accessed September 12, 2025

¹¹(No date) A/conf.151/26/vol.I: Rio declaration on environment and … Available at: https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_ CONF.151_26_Vol.I_Declaration.pdf (Accessed: 14 September 2025).

¹² Shailesh R. Shah v State of Gujrat (2002) 43 (3) GLR 2295

¹³ Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board V. Prof. M.V. Nayudu (Retd.) & Ors. AIR 1999 SC 812

¹⁴ National Green Tribunal. Available at: https://www.greentribunal.gov.in/ (Accessed: 14 September 2025).

¹⁵ Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v Union of India and others, (1996) 5 SCC 647.