Pollution

Pollution Control efforts in India have a long history dating back to the British rule. The Shore Nuisance Act, 1853, the Indian Penal Act, 1860, the Indian Easement Act, 1882, the Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act, 1905, the Bombay Smoke Nuisance Act, 1912 and the Motor Vehicles Act 1939 were some of the pioneering legislative attempts at abatement of pollution. These were at best a piecemeal...

Environmental Impact and Assessment

Indian environmental law has seen considerable development in the last two decades. Most of the principles under which environmental law works in India today were assembled over the last two-decade. A predominant share of essence of the existing law relating to the environment has developed through careful judicial thinking in the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the...

Environmental Norms

In the case of M.C. Mehta v. Union of India 24 (Oleum gas leakage case) Justice Bhagwati came up with the absolute liability principle. In this case the leak of oleum gas from the factory injured several Delhi citizens. Justice e Bhagwati used this opportunity to develop the concept of Absolute liability, which replaced the strict liability of Rayland’s v. Fletcher. In this judgment...

Environmental diligence

INDIA’S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS India has obligations under numerous international treaties and agreements that relate to environmental issues. As a contracting party, India must have ratified a treaty, that is, by adopting it as national law before it came into force, or by acceding to it after it has come into force. For a treaty to enter into force, the requisite number of...