M. C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath was a landmark case in Indian environmental law. In the case, the Supreme Court of India held that the public trust doctrine applied in India.
Facts of the case
The Indian Express published an article reporting that Span Motels Private Limited, which owns Span Resorts, had floated another ambitious venture, Span Club. The family of Indian politician Kamal Nath has direct links with this company. The club was built after encroaching upon 27.12 bighas (16.95 acres) of land, including substantial forestland, in 1990. The land was later regularised and leased out to the company on 11 April 1994.
The regularisation was done when Nath was Minister of Environment and Forests. This encroachment led to the swelling of the Beas River, and the swollen river changed its course and engulfed the Span Club and the adjoining lawns, washing it away. For almost five months now, the Span Resorts management has been moving bulldozers and earth movers to turn the course of the Beas for a second time.
A worrying thought was that of the river eating into the mountains, leading to landslides which were an occasional occurrence in that area. In September, these caused floods in the Beas and property estimated to be worth Rs. 105 crore was destroyed. The Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests by the letter dated 24.11.1993, addressed to the Secretary, Forest, Government of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla conveyed its prior approval in terms of Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for leasing to the Motel 27 bighas and 12 biswas of forest land adjoining to the land already on lease with the Motel. An expert committee formed to assess the situation of the area arrived at the following conclusion;
"The river is presently in a highly unstable regime after the extraordinary floods of 1995, and it is difficult to predict its behaviour if another high flood occur in the near future. A long-term planning for flood control in the Kullu Valley needs to be taken up immediately with the advice of an organisation having expertise in the field, and permanent measures shall be taken to protect the area so that recurrence of such a heavy flood is mitigated permanently".
Arguments for the defendants
Whatever construction activity was done by the motel on the land under its possession and on the area around, if any, was done with a view to protect the lease-hold land from floods. Divisional Forest Officer permitted the motel to carry out the necessary works subject to the conditions that the department would not be liable to pay any amount incurred for the said purpose by the motel. However, it could be easily ascertained from the facts that the Motel had made various constructions on the surrounding area and on the banks of the river.
Judgment of the court
The forest lands which have been given on lease to the Motel by the State Governments are situated at the bank of the river Beas. Beas is a young and dynamic river. The river is fast-flowing, carrying large boulders, at the time of flood. When water velocity is not sufficient to carry the boulders, these are deposited in the channel often blocking the flow of water. Under such circumstances the river stream changes its course, remaining within the valley but swinging from one bank to the other. The right bank of the river Beas where the motel is located mostly comes under forest, the left bank consists of plateaus, having steep banks facing the river, where fruit orchards and cereal cultivation are predominant. The area being ecologically fragile and full of scenic beauty should not have been permitted to be converted into private ownership and for commercial gains.
Doctrine of Public trust under Roman Law
The notion that the public has a right to expect certain lands and natural areas to retain their natural characteristic is finding its way into the law of the land. The ancient Roman Empire developed a legal theory known as the "Doctrine of the Public Trust". It was founded on the ideas that certain common properties such as rivers, sea-shore, forests and the air were held by Government in trusteeship for the free and unimpeded use of the general public. Under the Roman Law these resources were either owned by no one (Res Nullious) or by everyone in common (Res Communious).