Case Comment: Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v Union of India

Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v Union of India, delivered by the Supreme Court of India in 1996, was a landmark judgment addressing the fundamental problem of environmental degradation resulting from industrial pollution of the Palar River and land by toxic wastes from leather tanning industries in Tamil Nadu. In this case, the plaintiffs were the citizens of the city of Vellore who had filed a Public Interest Litigation seeking urgent judicial intervention to secure their right to live in a wholesome environment guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In recognising the gravity of the issue at stake in this case – that is, the public health as well as environmental consequences of industrial pollution of the river and the land by tanneries, the Supreme Court of India made an important innovation in judicial practice. The Court invoked certain binding principles, namely the Precautionary Principle and the Polluter Pays Principle, to guide the government policy concerning environmental protection in the country.