QUESTION 1
GS2
10 marks
"The most significant achievement of modern law in India is the constitutionalization of environmental problems by the Supreme Court." Discuss this statement with the help of relevant case laws.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Assess whether the Supreme Court's turning of environmental problems into constitutional rights is modern Indian law's biggest achievement, using case law.
DiscussExplain the different sides of the issue, use evidence, and finish with a balanced view.
Demand-wise check
- 1How it happened: reading the right to a clean environment into Article 21, plus Articles 48A and 51A(g); PIL and relaxed standing≈35 words
- 2Doctrines created: polluter pays, precautionary principle, public trust, absolute liability, sustainable development≈35 words
- 3Limits: weak compliance, judicial overreach, specialised NGT now handling cases≈35 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
ThesisConstitutional basisDoctrines with casesImpactLimitsBalanced conclusion
Where marks usually go
- Listing cases without the doctrine each one created
- Not engaging with 'most significant achievement' (agree or qualify)
Draw this
- Table: case → year → doctrine
Value addition
- Case lawM.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1987, Oleum gas leak) laid down absolute liability for hazardous industries.Supreme Court of India, 1987
- Case lawVellore Citizens' Welfare Forum v. Union of India (1996) adopted the precautionary and polluter-pays principles as part of Indian law.Supreme Court of India, 1996
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 3 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Shivam Singh · Page 7 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Alfred Thomas · Page 13 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 9 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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