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New Delhi: On Friday, May 8, the Calcutta High Court rejected the union government’s objections to Public Interest Litigations pertaining to the Great Nicobar projects, according to a report by LiveLaw. The Court instead said that the PILs are maintainable and need to be heard, and that just because a project is of ‘national importance’ it does not become immune to judicial review.

Per LiveLaw, the court was hearing three linked PILs filed by retired IAS officer Meena Gupta, including one about the reduction of eco-sensitive buffer zones around national parks, and another alleging violations of the Forest Rights Act by the procedures being undertaken to push through several infrastructure projects on the Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.

Government objects, petitioner defends

The Union government, represented by the Additional Solicitor General, had claimed that petitioner lacked locus standi (the legal right or capacity of a party to initiate a lawsuit or appear before a court). The government argued that Gupta, the petitioner, was a........

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