Legacy of Justice Kuldip Singh must guide environmentally responsive development: CJI Surya Kant

Calling for development that was environmentally responsible at its very conception, the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, on Saturday invoked the legacy of Justice Kuldip Singh — widely regarded as the architect of modern environmental jurisprudence in India.

The CJI was addressing the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association during his first major visit to his parent high court after his elevation in November last. He was here for the inauguration of extensively refurbished library in memory of the legendary “Green Judge” of the Supreme Court, Justice Kuldip Singh.

The CJI asserted that Justice Kuldip introduced and strengthened key environmental doctrines such as the “polluter pays” and “precautionary” principles, which became foundational to environmental governance in India and remain firmly entrenched in the legal system. Building on that foundation, environmental protection had today progressed beyond merely imposing liability after pollution, with courts increasingly asking whether every reasonable step was taken to avoid environmental harm in the first place.

Justice Kuldip’s wife Gurminder Kaur was also honoured on the occasion. Also present at the event was his son and senior advocate Paramjit Singh Patwalia, who also delivered vote of thanks. Supreme Court Judges Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, and Attorney-General for India R. Venkataramani were also present. Justice Kuldip’s other son DS Patwalia and other family members were also present. Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, sitting and retired Judges, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Justice SS Sodhi, Bar president SS Narula and other members too were there.

The CJI said constitutional courts increasingly expected project proponents to demonstrate that they had taken every possible step to prevent environmental harm before it occurred. “The focus is, therefore, gradually shifting from merely addressing environmental harm after it has occurred to ensuring that governance itself is conceived and implemented in a manner that minimises the risk of such harm,” Justice Kant said.

The CJI added that the constitutional approach today demanded proactive environmental responsibility rather than post-damage liability. “The principle has gone beyond merely saying that if you pollute you will pay. Rather now we ask — have you done everything reasonably possible to avoid polluting in the first place itself?”

Justice Kant said the burden was increasingly shifting to project proponents to show strict compliance with environmental standards and the adoption of best available technology. “The burden is increasing on the project proponent to demonstrate strict compliance with environmental standards, the use of best available technology and a predictable plan for restoration where damage is inevitable,” the CJI observed.

Placing Justice Kuldip Singh’s work in the broader trajectory of constitutional law, Justice Kant said India was no longer in an era where environment and development were treated as opposing choices. “With this approach we can realise that we are no longer in an era of choosing between environment and development as mutually exclusive forces. We are in an era where the only defensible development is the one which is environmentally responsive.”

Justice Surya said Justice Kuldip’s jurisprudence illustrated how constitutional principles evolved to respond to environmental challenges. “It reminds us that the Constitution is not indifferent to rivers, forests and fields.”

The CJI also stressed that environmental jurisprudence expanded the scope of the right to life under the Constitution and reinforced the role of Directive Principles in shaping governance. “Our task today is to carry forward that campaign, adapting new technologies and new economic models so that the law does not lag too far behind scientific realities,” Justice Surya Kant said.

Calling a library a “living institution”, Justice Kant said it must become a centre for reflection and discussion on evolving areas of law, particularly environmental jurisprudence. “A library is not a museum. It is a living institution where young lawyers read, reflect and refine their understanding of the law,” the CJI said, urging lawyers to revisit landmark environmental rulings that shaped constitutional environmentalism in India.

The CJI said such precedents were more than judicial decisions. “These cases are not merely precedents in a legal cycle. They are milestones for institutions. They show how constitutional principles evolve in response to the real environmental challenges of their time.”

Justice Kant urged the next generation of lawyers to carry forward the environmental vision shaped by judges like Justice Kuldip Singh in an era defined by climate change, renewable energy transitions and complex global supply chains. “To the next generation of lawyers is entrusted the responsibility to carry those principles forward with the same sense of responsibility and imagination,” the CJI added.