KSLU Corner™ New AIBE previous QP

Environmental Law

Semester 6 · 18 topics in 5 units

Past question papers for Environmental Law

Unit I 2 topics

  1. Environment and pollution: meaning, components, kinds and effectsWhat environment means in ecology and in the statutes, its components, the meaning and sources of pollution, the kinds of pollution each Act defines, man-made causes of degradation, and global warming.6 min
  2. Ancient and medieval writings, environmental jurisprudence and national environmental policyThe environmental ethic of the Vedas, Kautilya, Asoka, the Bishnois and Islamic thought, the anthropocentric and ecocentric schools of environmental jurisprudence, the guiding principles for daily life, and the National Environment Policy, 2006 with the policies before it.6 min

Unit II 5 topics

  1. Environmental policy and law before and after independenceBritish-era forest, nuisance and smoke laws, the forest policies of 1894 and 1952, the post-1972 statutes, the Forty-second Amendment, the post-Bhopal Environment (Protection) Act, the National Green Tribunal, and the decriminalisation of 2023 and 2024.6 min
  2. Constitutional provisions on environment: right to environment and duty to protect itArticles 48A and 51A(g) and the Forty-second Amendment, the Directive Principles that bear on environment, the right to a healthy environment read into Article 21 from the Doon valley case to M.K. Ranjitsinh (2024), the legislative lists, and Articles 252 and 253.7 min
  3. Public interest litigation and the role of the judiciary in environmental protectionRelaxed standing and epistolary jurisdiction under Articles 32 and 226, the leading environmental PILs from Ratlam to the Taj Trapezium and Godavarman, the techniques of continuing mandamus, expert committees and compensation, and the criticism of judicial activism.6 min
  4. Absolute liability, polluter pays and the precautionary principleThe environmental use of the oleum gas rule of absolute liability, the polluter pays principle from Bichhri to Kamal Nath, the precautionary principle and its reversal of the burden of proof in Vellore, the Taj case and Nayudu, and their statutory home in section 20 of the NGT Act.7 min
  5. Intergenerational equity and the public trust doctrineThe idea that the present generation holds the earth for future ones, its use in Hind Stone, Lafarge and the climate case, the Roman and American roots of the public trust doctrine, and its adoption in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1996) and Intellectuals Forum, Tirupathi (2006), with carrying capacity.6 min

Unit III 3 topics

  1. Sustainable development and the Stockholm, Rio and Johannesburg DeclarationsThe Stockholm Conference of 1972 and its Declaration, the Brundtland Report, the Rio Earth Summit of 1992 with its 27 principles and Agenda 21, Johannesburg 2002, Rio+20 and the Sustainable Development Goals, sustainable development in Indian courts, and corporate social responsibility.6 min
  2. Climate change and biodiversity treaties, the Biological Diversity Act and transboundary pollutionThe UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its protocols, the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 as amended in 2023, and the law on transboundary pollution from Trail Smelter to the Basel Convention.7 min
  3. Common law and criminal law remedies for environmental harmPollution as a tort (nuisance, negligence, trespass, strict and absolute liability) and its limits, environmental crimes as public nuisance under the BNS, the magistrate's power under s.152 BNSS, Ratlam and Kedia Leather, and the Bhopal gas disaster case.7 min

Unit IV 4 topics

  1. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974Definition of pollution, constitution and functions of the Central and State Pollution Control Boards, the consent system, sampling under section 21, emergency and court powers, directions under section 33A, and penalties and offences after the 2024 amendment, with the Article 252 catch.9 min
  2. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and noise pollutionState Boards under the Air Act, their functions, air pollution control areas and consent, sampling and the State Air Laboratory, penalties after the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, and noise pollution under the Noise Rules, 2000, In re Noise Pollution (2005) and the Church of God case.7 min
  3. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as amended in 2022Why wildlife must be protected and why species go extinct, the authorities under the Act (National and State Boards, Standing Committees, Tiger Conservation Authority and its Steering Committee), prohibition of hunting and its exceptions, trade in animal articles and CITES, penalties, and the judicial approach.8 min
  4. Forest conservation: the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 and the judicial approachThe Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 as renamed and amended in 2023, restrictions on de-reservation and non-forest use under section 2, the new section 1A on the land the Act covers and its exemptions, penalties, and the judicial approach from Godavarman (1996) to the pending challenge to the 2023 amendment.7 min

Unit V 4 topics

  1. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Ecomark and environmental auditObjects of the umbrella Act, the general powers of the Central Government under section 3, directions under section 5, rules, sampling, the penalty regime after the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 including contraventions by companies and Government departments, the Ecomark scheme and Ecomark Rules, 2024, and the environmental statement and Environment Audit Rules, 2025.8 min
  2. Environmental impact assessment and the Coastal Regulation ZoneEIA as prevention, the discretionary model before 1994 and the mandatory model of the 1994 and 2006 notifications, the four stages under EIA 2006, ex post facto clearance from Alembic to Vanashakti, and the CRZ notifications of 1991, 2011 and 2019 with their classification, Jagannath and Maradu.7 min
  3. Regulation of bio-medical waste and disposal of solid wasteThe Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 (which replaced the 1998 Rules): duties of occupiers and treatment facilities, colour-coded segregation, storage, treatment and authorisation; and the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 with four-stream segregation, bulk waste generators and environmental compensation, with Almitra Patel.7 min
  4. The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010Why a green tribunal was set up, its composition, original jurisdiction over substantial questions relating to environment under the seven Schedule I Acts, relief and restitution, appellate jurisdiction including appeals against penalties since 2024, sections 19 and 20, appeal to the Supreme Court, and the cases on its powers.7 min