Former Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta on Wednesday said that courts now justify environmental degradation and attacked the judiciary over different decisions, ranging from a clean chit to Vantara to allowing the Great Nicobar project.
“The Supreme Court and the High Courts were very active. They took a pro-active role in protecting the environment. Unfortunately, that is not true anymore,” he said at the Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2026, organised by the Centre for Science and Environment, in Nimli of Rajasthan.
“Now, there are certain phrases which the court uses to justify environmental degradation. Procedure has become more important than the environment,” he said, adding that courts mostly check only if procedure is followed.
“I’m sorry, that is not where the court’s role finishes. The procedure may have been followed, but if the end result is an environmental disaster, the court is required to step in,” he added.
Two examples
