DEVELOPMENT AND CLEAN AIR ARE NOT BINARY CHOICES
A Detailed Legal Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Ex Post Facto Environmental Clearance Ruling INTRODUCTION: THE SUPREME COURT REOPENS EX POST FACTO CLEARANCES In Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) v. Vanashakti & Ors. , 2025, a two-judge majority (Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran) reopened the possibility of granting ex post facto Environmental Clearances (ECs) — approvals given after construction has already begun. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dissented. The verdict effectively reverses the landmark May 2024 judgment in Vanashakti v. Union of India , which categorically prohibited such retroactive approvals. This ruling marks one of the most consequential environmental decisions in recent years, reopening the door for developers to operate without prior scrutiny, and later regularise the project with penalties or corrective measures. BACKGROUND: THE MAY 2024 VANASHAKTI JUDGMENT The original Vanashakti v. Union of India judgment (May...