Open AccessRight to Environment and Right to Development: A Judicial Conundrum
Author(s) -
Uday Shankar,
Saurabh Bindal
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
christ university law journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2278-4322
DOI - 10.12728/culj.1.4
Subject(s) - constitution , right to development , law , political science , fundamental rights , harmony (color) , declaration , exclusive right , obligation , constitutional right , human rights , context (archaeology) , law and economics , sociology , intellectual property , geography , art , archaeology , visual arts
Pollution free environment is indispensible for the inhabitants of this planet. The Supreme Court of India taking cognizance of the same in its judicial creativity has accorded the right to live in a pollution free environment the status of a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. At the same time, right to development places human beings at the centre of
development casting an obligation on the state to ensure the benefits of development to the citizenry. Interestingly, both right to environment and right to development draw their genesis from Article 21 of the Constitution. Such affirmation of rights necessarily presents a question of compliance by the state. This paper traces the origin of right to environment and right to development in the larger context of the fundamental rights. It critically
examines the usefulness of declaration of these rights under the scheme of the Constitution. It argues that the judiciary in its judicial creativity has made unreasonable interference into the matters reserved for the executive
which is not in accordance with the basic structure of the Constitution. The paper calls for maintenance of harmony between the two organs of the state.