The Art Of Living Foundation Case – Is Wrong Precedent Being Created?

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has been mandated to deal with cases relating to environment which, broadly, involve direct violation of specific statutory environmental obligation by a person by which community at large are affected or are likely to be affected. In doing so, NGT is guided by the principles of natural justice and has been empowered to apply the principle of sustainable development (basic assumption of balanced co-existence of socio-economic development and environment protection), the precautionary principle (environmental measures of anticipating, preventing and attacking the causes of environmental degradation) and the polluter pays principle (polluter pays the cost of restoring environmental degradation and compensates the victims). The question that arises is –whether NGT is judiciously applying one principle over another while dealing with the projects violating environmental norms?