Role of Judiciary in Development of Environmental Jurisprudence With Emphasis on India's Model

As far as the role of judiciary in development of environmental jurisprudence is concerned, a short survey on judicial record of Iran indicates that the Iranian Judiciary could not have taken any remarkable decision in this regard, yet! But, unlike the Iranian Judiciary, the Indian’s one has come forward actively to make good the deficiencies of law and provide relief wherever and whenever required. In this way the Indian Judiciary has made an extensive use of Indian constitutional provisions, environmental laws and even common law of tort to protect the environment and developed a new environmental jurisprudence in the country. For instance, the Supreme Court of India, in applying its significant role in construing and expanding the ambit of statutes, ruled that the right to live, specified in Article 21 of the Constitution is not confined to mere animal existence but extends to the right to live with basic human dignity which in turn necessitates enjoying a healthy and polluted environment. In environmental litigation the rule of locus standi has been relaxed by the Indian Supreme Court and the device of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has contributed to the raising of environmental awareness as well as shaking off administrative lethargy that seems to have set in the statutory enforcement machinery in that country. At the end, some suggestions have been rendered for protection and improvement of the environment and reinforcement of the Iranian Judiciary role in this field.