Last week, the Supreme Court of India handed developers a surprising reprieve in Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (CREDAI) v. Vanashakti & Ors. 2025. In a 2:1 verdict authored by former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran (with Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dissenting), the Court reopened the door to ex post facto environmental clearances (ECs), i.e., approvals granted to a project after construction has already begun, without the mandatory prior environmental scrutiny.

The move is controversial not just because of what it allows, but because of what it overturns — a hard-hitting judgment from May that categorically banned the practice. In this original Vanashakti v. Union of India ruling, a two-judge bench (comprising retired Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Bhuyan) had struck down the Union environment, forest, and climate change ministry’s 2017 Notification and 2021 Office Memorandum allowing ex post facto ECs under strict conditions, calling the practice contrary to the principles of environmental protection.

The ruling was hailed as a progressive milestone in environmental jurisprudence, reinforcing the principle that environmental........

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