COMPENDIUM OF SUMMARIES OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS IN ENVIRONMENT RELATED CASES

INDIA

India- Water Pollution

M.C. MEHTA v. KAMAL NATH AND OTHERS

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (1997)1 SUPREME COURT CASES 388 KULDIP SINGH, J.

Introduction

The Court took notice of an article which appeared in the Indian Express stating that a private company "Span Motels Pvt. Ltd.", to which the family of Kamal Nath, a former Minister of Environment and Forests, had a direct link, had built a motel on the bank of the River Beas on land leased by the Indian Government in 1981. Span Motels had also encroached upon an additional area of land adjoining this leasehold area, and this area was later leased out to Span Motels when Kamal Nath was Minister in 1994. The motel used earthmovers and bulldozers to turn the course of the River Beas, create a new channel and divert the river's flow. The course of the river was diverted to save the motel from future floods.

Legal Framework

Constitution of India Articles 21 and 32
Forest Conservation Act of 1980

Held

The Supreme Court of India held that prior approval for the additional leasehold land, given in 1994, is quashed and the Government shall take over the area and restore it to its original condition. Span Motels will pay compensation to restore the environment, and the various constructions on the bank of the River Beas must be removed and reversed. Span motels must show why a pollution fine should not be imposed, pursuant to the polluter pays principle. Regarding the land covered by the 1981 lease, Span Motels shall construct a boundary wall around the area covered by this lease, and Span Motels shall not encroach upon any part of the river basin. In addition, this motel shall not discharge untreated effluents into the river.

This ruling is based on the public trust doctrine, under which the Government is the trustee of all natural resources which are by nature meant for public use and enjoyment. The Court reviewed public trust cases from the United States and noted under English common law this doctrine extended only to traditional uses such as navigation, commerce and fishing, but how the doctrine is now being extended to all ecologically important lands, including freshwater, wetlands and riparian forests. The Court relied on these cases to rule that the government committed patent breach of public trust by leasing this ecologically fragile land to Span Motels when it was purely for commercial uses.

Cases Cited

City of Milwaukee v. State 193 Wis. 423
Crawford County Lever and Drainage Dist. No. 1 182 Wis 404
Gould v. Greylock Reservation Commission 350 Mass 410 (1966)
Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. People of the State of Illinois 146 U.S. 387 (1892)
Indian Council for Enviro Legal Action v. Union of India (1996) 3 SCC 212: JT (1996) 2 SC 196
Marks v. Whitney 6 Cal. 3d 251
National Audubon Society v. Superior Court of Alpine County 33Cal.3d419
Philips Petroleum Co. v. Mississippi 108 S.Ct. 791 (1988)
Priewev v. Wisconsin State Land and Improvement Co. 93 Wis. 534 (1896)
Robbins v. Dep 't of Public Works 244 N.E. 2d 577
Sacco v. Development of Public Works 532 Mass 670
State v. Public Service Commission 275 Wis l12
United Plainsmen v. N.D. State Water Cons. Comm'n 247 NW 2d 457 (N.D. 1976)
Vellore Citizen's Welfare Forum v. Union of India(1996) 5 SCC 647: JT (1996) 7 SC 375