Limitation Period To Challenge Environmental Clearance Commences From Earliest Date Of Its Public Communication: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that the limitation period for filing an appeal against the grant of Environmental Clearance ("EC") would be reckoned from the earliest date of communication of the EC to the public at large.

The Court endorsed the NGT's decision of Save Mon Region Federation & Anr. vs. Union of India, 2013(1) All India NGT Reporter 1 which stated that the " obligations of MoEF&CC, the project proponent and others to communicate the grant of EC to any person aggrieved and hold that where different stake holders are to communicate the order, the earliest date on which the communication is carried out, shall be the date for reckoning limitation to file appeal against the grant of EC."

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar made this observation while decidin