SUPREME COURT REVIVES 40-YEAR-OLD M.C. MEHTA CASE TO RESOLVE LONG-PENDING APPLICATIONS AND BRING CLOSURE TO PROLONGED LITIGATION:

The Supreme Court of India has formally disposed of the landmark 1985 writ petition filed by environmentalist M.C. Mehta concerning air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), bringing an end to a four-decade-long judicial proceeding that had become procedurally overburdened. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul Pancholi observed that the original case, registered as Writ Petition (Civil) No. 13029 of 1985, had evolved into a mechanism of continuous mandamus, issuing numerous directions over the years on issues such as vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, waste management, and other environmental safeguards. However, the persistent filing of Interlocutory Applications (IAs) and Miscellaneous Applications under the same petition number had created a misleading statistical impression of prolonged pendency, even though the core issues from 1985 had long been addressed through landmark orders. The bench noted that this practice artificially inflated the court's backlog, with M.C. Mehta's matters alone accounting for around 85 pending applications, many of which stemmed from contemporary challenges rather than the original grievances.

To address this anomaly and ensure efficient case management, the court formally closed the 1985 writ petition, directing that no further IAs or miscellaneous applications would be entertained under that case number. Instead, the Registry was instructed to register fresh suo motu proceedings titled "In Re: Issues of Air Pollution in NCR," thereby recaptioning the ongoing monitoring of air quality matters in the region. All currently pending IAs in the disposed petition are to be converted into independent writ petitions, each assigned a separate case number for streamlined handling. The bench accepted recommendations from the learned Amicus Curiae, Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, and issued specific directions: Advocates on Record (AoRs) representing parties in the pending IAs must inform the Registry within two weeks whether their applications have become infructuous, providing valid reasons if they remain relevant; failure to do so will result in the applications being deemed infructuous and liable for dismissal. The Amicus Curiae was also requested to independently identify any infructuous IAs to assist the court.

The court further emphasized the need for better preparedness and transparency from stakeholders, including the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. These entities were directed to circulate their compliance reports to all parties well in advance of future hearings. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the CAQM during the proceedings. The bench highlighted that the surviving issues are of recent origin and require fresh categorization, such as sub-grouping under themes like vehicular pollution, industrial emissions, power plants, and waste management. This restructuring aims to prevent the recurrence of endless applications clogging a single file and to present a clearer picture of the court's docket to Parliament and the public. The order reflects a procedural cleanup while ensuring that judicial oversight of NCR's air pollution crisis continues effectively under the new suo motu framework, without the baggage of outdated pendency labels.

This step underscores the Supreme Court's commitment to modernizing its handling of long-standing environmental PILs, allowing for focused, merit-based disposal of contemporary applications while preserving the legacy of M.C. Mehta's contributions to India's environmental jurisprudence.