In a rare move, the Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside its own May 16 verdict that had barred the Centre from granting retrospective environmental clearances, restoring the government’s power to issue post-facto approvals for projects that violated green norms.

The earlier judgment, delivered by a bench of Justice AS Oka (since retired) and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, had held that post-facto clearances were impermissible, emphasising that the right to live in a pollution-free environment is part of the fundamental right to life.

Justice Oka, who authored the now-reviewed ruling, had also struck down post-facto approvals granted to several companies, calling the practice inconsistent with environmental law.

On Tuesday, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court overturned that decision in a 2:1

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