M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Ganga Pollution)
Supreme Court of India(1988) 1 SCC 471Bench: Supreme Court of India
Related sections: Articles 21, 48A, 51A(g)
The Court held that industries lacking adequate treatment plants could not be allowed to continue polluting and directed closure or compliance measures. The holding reflects the result and the principal reasons accepted by the court, while recognising that separate opinions may have used different reasoning. In recording this field for M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Ganga Pollution), the emphasis is on the operative legal controversy, the constitutional or statutory setting, and the precise institutional consequence of the decision rather than on later popular summaries. The description should be read with the reported judgment, because landmark decisions often contain several concurring or dissenting opinions, different reasons, and later qualifications. For database use, this note separates held from broader commentary: it identifies the controlling principle, the procedural posture, and the relief actually granted or refused without adding unverified facts. In recording this field for M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Ganga Pollution), the emphasis is on the operative legal controversy, the constitutional or statutory setting, and the precise institutional consequence of the decision rather than on later popular summaries. The description should be read with the reported judgment, because landmark decisions often contain several concurring or dissenting opinions, different reasons, and later qualifications. For database use, this note separates held from broader commentary: it identifies the controlling principle, the procedural posture, and the relief actually granted or refused without adding unverified facts.