The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed a 2021 Office Memorandum that allowed ex post facto environmental clearances for infrastructure projects. The court ruled that the central government cannot change protective environmental rules through administrative orders alone. The memorandum created an ongoing system for approving projects started without prior clearance and altered the standards set in the 2006 notification, which the court said was not permitted. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant stated that the 2006 rules required mandatory prior clearances for major projects in sectors such as highways, airports, real estate, ports, mining, energy and heavy industry. Justice Joymalya Bagchi wrote that any amnesty scheme must be introduced through proper notification and apply only to projects of clear public interest. The 2021 memorandum lacked clear criteria for selection and violated principles of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 as well as Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The court struck down the memorandum from the date of the judgment to avoid disrupting current projects. Clearances already granted under the 2017 one-time amnesty and the 2021 order remain valid unless challenged separately. The court barred future administrative orders for such clearances but noted that it could still grant them under Article 142. The ruling follows earlier conflicting decisions on retrospective clearances.
