No Amnesty by Memo: The Supreme Court Shuts the Executive Route to Retrospective Green Clearances

Article summary

The Supreme Court on 29 July 2026 quashed, with prospective effect, the Union government's 2021 Office Memorandum that had created a standing procedure to grant ex post facto — retrospective — environmental clearance to projects begun or completed without the prior clearance the law requires. The Court held that the mandatory regime of prior environmental clearance, rooted in the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the precautionary principle, cannot be diluted by a mere administrative instruction such as an Office Memorandum. It nonetheless declined to shut the door entirely: the government may, in exceptional circumstances and in public interest, provide for such clearances, but only through a statutory notification issued under its delegated powers under the 1986 Act, not through an executive order. The ruling therefore turns on the instrument — statute or memo — rather than on an absolute prohibition, and is significant for the balance between environmental regulation and development.