India, Sept. 16 -- The monsoon is usually welcomed as a season of renewal, when parched fields drink deep and rivers run with fresh life. But this year, the rains turned into a roaring nightmare. Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand are reeling under one of the most punishing flood crises in living memory. These states have been battling one of the worst flood crisis in decades. What started as seasonal rains has quickly escalated into a massive disaster, with hundreds of lives lost, millions displaced, and entire villages submerged under the swelling waters of rivers and seasonal rivulets.

On July 28, 2025, the Supreme Court Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan had observed, "If things proceed the wa...