In Brief
A woman challenged a National Green Tribunal decision rejecting her appeal against environmental clearance for a greenfield airport on the ground that her appeal was filed beyond the 30-day limit. The Supreme Court held that the appeal was filed within the extended 90-day period (counting only working days under the General Clauses Act) and that she had shown sufficient cause for the delay. The Court emphasized that acquiring expert legal and technical advice for environmental matters is legitimately time-consuming and different from other legal challenges. The NGT's narrow refusal to condone the delay was erroneous. The Court set aside the NGT order and remitted the case for merits consideration, recognizing that environmental appeals require careful tribunal review to prevent irreversible environmental harm.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.