In Brief
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal of two plastic manufacturing companies against an NGT order directing closure of their Formaldehyde manufacturing units operating without prior Environmental Clearance (EC). Although prior EC is non-negotiable, the Court held that ex post facto EC cannot be withheld with "pedantic rigidity" when operational units comply with pollution norms, employ thousands of workers, and were issued Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate by the state authority. The Court applied proportionality doctrine, directing the government to decide the EC applications within deadlines and allowing continued operation pending final clearance. The deviant establishments could still face penalties under the polluter-pays principle.
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