Various organisations, former civil servants oppose CJI’s environmental activists comment

Former civil servants and organisations have demanded a retraction of Chief Justice Surya Kant's comments suggesting environmental activists are "anti-development", calling them factually inaccurate and constitutionally troubling.

Various organisations and a group of former civil servants have expressed concern regarding Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant's recent comments about people approaching the courts regarding environmental litigations.

A Bench comprising the CJI and Joymalya Bagchi on May 11 had said, ''Show us even a single project in this country where these alleged environmental activists have said that we welcome this project.''.

The observations were made during the hearing of a matter concerning the expansion of Pipavav Port in Gujarat.

In an open letter addressed to the CJI, the individuals and organisations on Friday demanded a retraction of the court's observations.

It said, ''The comments risk being understood as casting bona fide environmental scrutiny and public-interest litigation as reflexively 'anti-development'.''.

The letter also said that such framing is ''factually inaccurate, constitutionally troubling, and potentially dangerous''.

In a separate statement on Friday, the group of former civil servants said, ''The CJI's remarks against environmental activists and litigants, suggesting that these activists obstruct 'development', reveal a bias and prejudice that is alarming, coming from the highest judicial authority of the country, an authority whose mandate is to approach every issue without pre-conceived notions and decide each case on merits.''.

Prafulla Samantara, one of the signatories of the open letter and national convenor of Lok Shakti Abhiyan, in a statement, said, ''We citizens who discharge our constitutional duty by raising concerns about inadequately appraised development projects are not obstructing the state, but are performing an obligation that the Constitution places upon us.

''We take strong objection to the casual deployment of the label 'environmentalist' as a term of delegitimisation. 'Environmentalist' has a positive connotation: as citizens who are fulfilling their duty under Article 51 (A)(g) of the Indian Constitution, which says that it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife.''