India, Dec. 3 -- Last week, the Supreme Court of India handed developers a surprising reprieve in Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (CREDAI) v. Vanashakti & Ors. 2025. In a 2:1 verdict authored by former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran (with Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dissenting), the Court reopened the door to ex post facto environmental clearances (ECs), i.e., approvals granted to a project after construction has already begun, without the mandatory prior environmental scrutiny.

The move is controversial not just because of what it allows, but because of what it overturns - a hard-hitting judgment from May that categorically banned the practice. In this original Vanashakti v. Union of India ruling,...