The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed a 2021 office memorandum that created a mechanism for the Union government to grant environmental clearances to projects that had commenced operations without obtaining an approval, Live Law reported.The court held that the government cannot introduce such a scheme through an administrative order.It also noted that the government has the power to provide for retrospective environmental clearances through a statutory notification issued under the 1986 Environment Protection Act.A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, in a unanimous verdict, held that the judgement would apply prospectively, meaning that the projects that had been given post-facto environmental clearances will not be affected.The bench also said that the Union government has power under the Environment Protection Act to issue notifications that would allow certain categories of projects that began without getting an environmental clearance to obtain a retrospective approval in the larger public interest, PTI reported.The projects include the AIIMS Medical College and Hospital building in Odisha, the Centre of Excellence for Cancer Diseases in Tamil Nadu, the Vijayapura airport in Karnataka, slum rehabilitation projects and irrigation projects intended for drought-prone areas.The court said the 2021 office memorandum was an administrative order that created a perpetual mechanism to grant environmental clearances to projects that were undertaken without obtaining clearance, PTI reported.Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who authored the verdict, said that the “perpetual amnesty scheme” that is applicable to all projects does not set any criteria for which projects can qualify to seek post-facto clearance, the news agency reported.The court added that the office memorandum failed the tests of proportionality and reasonableness and violated Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution that guarantee the right to equality and the right to life, including the right to a clean environment.It also directed that no fresh applications for retrospective environmental clearance under a 2017 notification or the 2021 office memorandum should be entertained.In April, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on 49 petitions in the matter after hearing the matter for six days.In November, the Supreme Court reversed its earlier ruling that had barred the government from granting environmental clearances to projects after they had already begun.In a 2:1 decision at the time, the court recalled its May 2025 judgement that declared such post-facto approvals illegal. The November verdict allowed the government to once again consider granting environmental clearances to projects retrospectively.Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.