Overview
- The recall revives the 2017 notification and a 2021 Office Memorandum that allow post‑facto clearances in limited cases with penalties and full appraisal, offering no automatic regularisation.
- Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran held the May verdict was per incuriam for not considering coordinate‑bench rulings such as D. Swamy and Pahwa Plastics, stressing judicial discipline.
- The court noted that maintaining the earlier ban risked demolishing public works worth about ₹20,000 crore, with the majority warning that tear‑down and rebuild would waste public funds and increase pollution.
- Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dissented, calling ex‑post‑facto clearance an anathema to environmental law, invoking the precautionary principle and noting the environment ministry did not seek review.
- The batch of nearly 40 review pleas included industry groups such as CREDAI, and examples cited to the court included projects by SAIL and an AIIMS hospital, which now remain subject to fresh scrutiny under the revived framework.