Defending Nature through Law: the Role of Public Interest Litigation in Environmental Protection

A new field called environmental jurisprudence is developing a coherent legal, economic, and ecological framework for protecting natural resources for future generations. Public interest in environmental concerns is a prerequisite for the legitimacy and efficacy of environmental governance. Environmental movements and public interest litigation are greatly aided by the public interest. A legal action brought before a court of law with the intention of upholding the public interest is known as public interest litigation. Based on landmark rulings from the Supreme Court and High Courts, this article examines environmental jurisprudence and public interest litigations. Public interest litigation has demonstrated that judicial intervention is possible in cases when the public is harmed due to the government's failure to fulfil its constitutional or statutory obligations. The only situation in which courts will step in is when the State is obviously failing to fulfil its constitutional or legislative obligations. Public interest litigation is a tool that must be handled very carefully and cautiously.