India, July 30 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled the Centre cannot use administrative orders to grant environmental clearance to projects that broke ground without approval - but, experts say, held open a route that still allows such clearances in the future.

The verdict comes after years of legal argument over whether India's environmental law can regularise past violations, and clarifies the terms on which governments may try in the future.

It also spares a slate of projects already cleared under the now-invalidated regime - a slate that includes hospitals, medical colleges, an airport and irrigation works.

Environmentalists, including the petitioner NGO Vanashakti, have said that post-facto clearances is fundamentally at odds ...