The Court emphasized that appointments to the Expert Appraisal Committee must meet specified qualifications to ensure environmental integrity and delineated the limited jurisdiction of the High Court when issuing writs of quo warranto.

JUDGMENT

Subramonium Prasad, J. The instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, has been filed in the style of a Public Interest Litigation (hereinafter referred to as "PIL") seeking quashing of the notification dated 10.07.2020 issued by Respondent No.1as well as seeking the issuance of a writ of quo warranto against Respondents No. 2 to 5, holding their appointment to the Expert Appraisal Committee (Thermal Power and Coal Mining Projects) as illegal.

2. In 1986, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1986 Act"), and the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1986 Rules"), were promulgated with the aim to protect and improve the environment, and was meant to institute a framework that would put in place a regulatory regime that would cover all major industrial and infrastructural activities in order to restrict the same with the view to implement sustainable development. The introduction of the Act reads as under:

"Since the sixties concern over the state of environment has grown the world over. There has been substantive decline in environment quality due to increasing pollution, loss of vegetal cover and biological diversity, excessive concentrations of harmful chemicals in the ambient atmosphere and in food chains, growing risks of environmental accidents and threats to life support systems. The decisions which were taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in June, 1972 were based on the world community's resolve to protect and enhance the environmental quality. While participating in the said Conference Government of India strongly voiced the environmental concerns. Although several measures had been taken for environmental protection both before and after the Conference it was found necessary to enact a comprehensive law on the subject to implement the decisions of the Conference. Accordingly the Environment (Protection) Bill was introduced in the Parliament."

3. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (hereinafter referred to as the "MoEF") issued a notification, bearing no. S.O. 1533(E), dated 14.09.2006 under Sections 3(1) and 3(2)(v) of the 1986 Act read with Rule5(3) of the 1986 Rules(hereinafter referred to as the "EIA notification"); it was in supersession of a 1994 notification.It stated that certain restrictions and prohibitions would be placed on new projects or activities, or on the expansion or modernization of existing projects or activities based on their potential environmental impacts. The Schedule to the EIA notification enumerated two categories [Category A and Category B, which, as per Clause 4(i) of the EIA notification, is based on the spatial extent of potential impacts on human health, and natural and man-made resources]of projects or activities that required one to obtain prior environmental clearance that was to be accorded in consonance with the objectives of the National Environment Policy as approved by the Union Cabinet on 18.05.2006.

4. In the same Clause 4 of the EIA notification, it is stated that projects and activities included in Category A shall require prior environmental clearance from the MoEF on the basis of the recommendations of an Expert Appraisal Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "EAC") that is to be constituted by the Central Government. Appendix VI