New Delhi, May 16 -- The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Central government from granting "ex-post facto" Environmental Clearances (EC) in future.

The apex court struck down previous Office Memorandums (OMs) and notifications issued by Centre that had permitted such post-facto approvals for mining and industrial ventures.

The bench, comprising Justices Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, ruled that projects initiating operations without the mandatory prior environmental clearance cannot be subsequently legalized.

Justice Oka, while reading the operative parts of the judgment, emphasized that corporations, real estate developers, public sector undertakings, and mining industries that deliberately disregarded environmental regulati...