M. C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath was a landmark case in Indian environmental law.

In th
e case, the Supreme Court of India held that the public trust doctrine applied i
n India. (as well as polluter pays principle)
Facts of the case
The Indian Express published an article reporting that Span Motels Private Limit
ed, which owns Span Resorts, had floated another ambitious venture, Span Club. T
he family of Indian politician Kamal Nath has direct links with this company.The
club was built after encroaching upon 27.12 bighas of land, including substanti
al forestland, in 1990. The land was later regularised and leased out to the com
pany on April 11, 1994.
The regularisation was done when Nath was Minister of Environment and Forests. T
his encroachment led to the swelling of the Beas River, and the swollen river ch
anged its course and engulfed the Span Club and the adjoining lawns, washing it
away. For almost five months now, the Span Resorts management has been moving bu
lldozers and earth movers to turn the course of the Beas for a second time.
A worrying thought was that of the river eating into the mountains, leading to l
andslides which were an occasional occurrence in that area. In September, these
caused floods in the Beas and property estimated to be worth Rs. 105 crore was d
estroyed. The Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests by the le
tter dated 24.11.1993, addressed to the Secretary, Forest, Government of Himacha
l Pradesh, Shimla conveyed its prior approval in terms of Section 2 of the Fores
t (Conservation) Act, 1980 for leasing to the Motel 27 bighas and 12 biswas of f
orest land adjoining to the land already on lease with the Motel. An expert comm
ittee formed to assess the situation of the area arrived at the following conclu
sion,
The river is presently in a highly unstable regime after the extraordinary flood
s of 1995, and it is difficult to predict its behaviour if another high flood oc
cur in the near future. A long-term planning for flood control in the Kullu Vall
ey needs to be taken up immediately with the advice of an organisation having ex
pertise in the field, and permanent measures shall be taken to protect the area
so that recurrence of such a heavy flood is mitigated permanently.
Judgement of the court
The forest lands which have been given on lease to the Motel by the State Govern
ments are situated at the bank of the river Beas. Beas is a young and dynamic ri
ver. The river is fast-flowing, carrying large boulders, at the time of flood. W
hen water velocity is not sufficient to carry the boulders, those are deposited
in the channel often blocking the flow of water. Under such circumstances the ri
ver stream changes its course, remaining within the valley but swinging from one
bank to the other. The right bank of the river Beas where the motel is located
mostly comes under forest, the left bank consists of plateaus, having steep - ba
nk facing the river, where fruit orchards and cereal cultivation are predominant
. The area being ecologically fragile and full of scenic beauty should not have
been permitted to be converted into private ownership and for commercial gains.
Orders of the Court
The public trust doctrine, as discussed by the Court in this judgment was a part
of the law of the land. The prior approval granted by the Government of India,
Ministry of Environment and Forest and the lease-deed dated 11.04.1994 in favour
of the Motel were quashed. The lease granted to the Motel by the said lease-dee
d in respect of 27 bighas and 12 biswas of area, is cancelled and set aside. The
Himachal Pradesh Government shall take over the area and restore it to its orig
inal-natural conditions. The Motel shall pay compensation by way of cost for the
restitution of the environment and ecology of the area. The pollution caused by
various constitutions made by the Motel in the riverbed and the banks on the ri

ver Beas have to be removed and reversed.

Polluter Pays Principle
The Polluter Pays principle as interpreted by this Court means that the absolute
liability for harm to the environment extends not only to compensate the victim
s of pollution but also the cost of restoring the environmental degradation. Rem
ediation of the damaged environment is part of the process of sustainable develo
pment and as such the polluter is liable to pay the cost to the individual suffe
rers as well as the cost of reversing the damaged ecology.
Public Trust Doctrine
The ancient Roman Empire developed a legal theory known as the "Doctrine of the
Public Trust". The doctrine primarily rest on the principle that certain resourc
es like air, sea, waters and forests have such a great importance to the people
as a whole that it would be wholly unjustified to make them subject of private g
overnorship. The said resources being a gift of nature, they should be made free
ly available to everyone irrespective of the status.
The doctrine enjoins upon the Government to protect the resources for the enjoym
ent of the general public rather than to permit their own use for private owners
hip or commercial purposes. The Supreme Court in India also recognises that this
doctrine as a part of the Indian law. The court in the below mentioned case hel
d that the doctrine of public trust implies following instructions on government
authority:
"First, the property subject to the trust must not only he used only he used for
a public purpose, but it must he held available for the use of the general publ
ic.
Secondly, the property may not to be sold, even for a fair cash equivalent.
Thirdly, the property must he maintained for particular types of uses".
_________________________________________________________
In M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (2002) 3 SCC 653
The Suprem Court on the earlier occasions [1997 1 SCC 3 881] after adverting to
the pleading relevant documents and the technical report of the Central Polluti
on Control Board, enumerated the various activities of Span Motels considered to
the illegal and constituting 'callous interference with the natural flow of Riv
er Beas' resulting in the degradation of the environment and for that purpose in
dicated them with having 'interfered with the natural flow of the river by tryin
g to block the natural relief/split channel of the river'.