The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, determined that the original 1985 petition—which has shaped India’s environmental jurisprudence for decades—should be re-captioned and reorganized to better handle contemporary challenges.
A New Chapter for Environmental Litigation
The M.C. Mehta PIL, filed in 1985, served as the bedrock for numerous landmark orders and regulations aimed at controlling and managing pollution levels across Delhi-NCR. However, given the vast number of interlocutory and miscellaneous applications filed over the years, the Court found it necessary to streamline the legal framework.
“Keeping the suggestions… we formally dispose of the writ petition,” the bench stated, emphasizing that the apex court registry will no longer entertain new applications under the old 1985 petition.
Instead, the Court has ordered the creation of a new case titled ‘Re: Issues of air pollution in National Capital Region’.
Reorganizing Pending Matters
To ensure that ongoing legal battles are not lost in the transition, the Court issued specific directives for the registry:
- All currently pending applications are to be registered as independent writ petitions.
- Every interlocutory application (IA) will be assigned its own unique writ petition number.
- The registry is strictly prohibited from filing any further applications under the original 1985 PIL.
Addressing the “Annual Feature”
The Supreme Court continues to oversee a wide range of pollution-related issues, with a heavy focus on vehicular emissions. This procedural overhaul follows scathing remarks made by the Court in December last year, where the bench described the region’s toxic air quality as an “annual feature.” At the time, the Court called for “pragmatic and practical solutions” rather than temporary fixes to resolve the recurring health hazard.
By moving to a suo motu (on its own motion) format, the Court signals a more direct and systematic approach to holding authorities accountable for the smog that routinely blankets the capital.
