Overview
- The Supreme Court, in a July 29, 2026 judgment, struck down the Centre’s 2021 Office Memorandum and closed the door on open-ended retrospective regularisation while permitting pending post-facto applications to be processed.
- Media reports shared by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh say the Union Environment Ministry has asked central and state expert appraisal bodies to resume assessing those pending post-facto environmental clearance proposals.
- Ramesh welcomed the court ruling but said allowing pending cases to go forward dilutes its effect and called the continued practice 'ecologically damaging' and a routine 'start first, seek clearance later' approach.
- Retrospective clearances let projects that began without prior environmental approval apply after the fact, and critics say that process encourages starting work before compliance and can cause lasting ecological harm.
- How expert committees apply the judgment will shape outcomes for ongoing projects and local communities and could prompt fresh court challenges or tighter administrative or legislative rules.