Access to Environmental Justice in India: Innovation and Change

Access to justice is a pillar of democratic governance. It promotes just and equitable outcomes thereby supporting the rule of law. The importance of judicial institutions [courts and specialist tribunals to adjudicate environmental disputes] is widely acknowledged in international instruments. Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, 1992, strengthens access rights by stating ‘effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided by states in environmental matters’. In this context, India’s commitment to secure environmental justice assumes significant practical importance. This chapter traces and evaluates the role of the Indian judiciary (Supreme Court of India and the National Green Tribunal) in contributing and promoting access to environmental justice. The chapter presents and analyses participatory parity in Indian environmental discourse evolved from the concept of broad and liberal litigant ‘standing’ in environmental matters facilitated by Supreme Court of India through Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and ‘aggrieved party’ by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). It reviews appropriate case illustrations in providing victims of environmental degradation with a way to access justice in a participatory manner.