“Green Crimes and Constitutional Environmentalism: A Public Interest Litigation Approach to Strengthening India’s Environmental Criminal Justice Framework.”

Environmental Law, Green Crimes, Criminal liability, PIL & Constitutional environmentalism

India's environmental law is a structured system yet criminal accountability for serious environmental offences is almost non-existent, which results in country's environmental degradation. Over the past few decades rising incidents of air and water pollution, illegal mining, hazardous waste dumping, deforestation, and wildlife crime have increased concerns. These actions are commonly known as green crimes, and they harm nature and also human health, public safety, and future generations. Although India possesses one of the world’s most comprehensive environmental governance frameworks—strengthened by constitutional guarantees under Articles 21, 48-A and 51-A(g)—the enforcement of environmental law remains fragmented and largely ineffective. The widespread use of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has enabled courts to address institutional failures, as demonstrated in many landmark decisions, yet, despite judicial intervention, criminal sanction for serious environmental harm remains weak, slow, and almost absent in practice.

This research paper explores the evolution and the current state of India’s environmental criminal justice by combining constitutional rights, PIL, strict criminal sanctions and judicial approaches. The paper also explains the present laws in India that deal with green crimes and assesses their effectiveness in addressing contemporary environmental harms. The paper also compares India’s system with countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, which have stronger models of environmental crime investigation, prosecution, and sentencing. The study highlights major gaps in India’s current system, such as weak investigation, poor coordination among agencies, outdated penalties, low conviction rates, and minimal use of scientific evidence.

Finally, the paper suggests key reforms for India’s future, for building a strong, fair, and people-friendly environmental justice system that protects the right of healthy environment.