Justice B V Nagarathna urges proactive court role in environmental justice at Ranchi lecture
The Facts
- Justice B V Nagarathna delivered the Justice S B Sinha Memorial Lecture at the National University of Study and Research in Law in Ranchi.
- She said courts should play a proactive role in environmental justice.
- Nagarathna said environmental harm does not affect all people equally and tends to hit poorer and marginalised communities more severely.
- She described the environment as a trust inherited from the past and held in stewardship for the future.
- Reports said she characterised environmental law as a forward-looking field concerned with governing risk, preventing harm and managing uncertainty.
- Reports said she linked environmental justice with ecological conservation, public accountability and the rights of affected communities.
Context
Why did Nagarathna say courts need to be proactive on environmental issues?
According to multiple reports, she said courts have the capacity to keep ecological conservation, public accountability and the rights of affected communities central to governance, and that environmental law must address risk and prevent harm rather than only correct past conduct Hindustan Times,New Indian Express,NewsDrum.
What did she mean by calling the environment a trust?
She said the environment is not owned outright by the living but is inherited from the past and held in stewardship for the future, a line reported by several outlets covering the lecture Hindustan Times,New Indian Express,NewsDrum.
Did she connect environmental protection with social equity?
Yes. Reports said she argued that pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss and resource depletion disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised, and that environmental adjudication must therefore take equity, fairness and justice into account Hindustan Times,Indian Express,New Indian Express,NewsDrum.
The receipts — all 8 sources
Independent coverage (8)
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