India, Aug. 20 -- In an anthropocentric world where man shapes nature to meet his wants. we need to examine the issue through the prism of eco-centric proportionality"-thus opens the Supreme Court's judgement in Vanashakti v Union of India, delivered on July 29, 2026. Authored by Justice Joymalya Bagchi on behalf of a bench that also comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Vipul Pancholi, the judgement addresses the legality of Union government orders that regularised constructions carried out without prior environmental clearance.

The judgement starts with what can be termed an incorrect legal foundation: "The Bench is entrusted with the solemn duty to strike a balance between the existential right of all living beings both prese...