Climate Change Litigation in India: Rising Judicial Activism Post–M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024)

Archana Ashok Khandwe

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i06.63229

Climate Change Litigation in India: Rising Judicial Activism Post–M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024)

Author(s)	Ms. Archana Ashok Khandwe
Country	India
Abstract	ABSTRACT Climate change is increasingly recognized as a constitutional, developmental, and human rights crisis—particularly in countries like India where ecological vulnerability intersects with high population density, resource dependency, and rapid industrialization. Over the last two decades, India has experienced unprecedented climatic variability, including intensified heatwaves, severe cyclones, erratic monsoons, riverine floods, glacial lake outburst events, and prolonged drought conditions. According to publicly available datasets, India recorded over 271 extreme weather events in 2023 alone, with an estimated 45% increase in frequency compared to the 1990s. Meanwhile, economic losses attributed to climate-linked disasters reached nearly USD 87 billion in 2022, and India is expected to lose up to 2.8% of its GDP annually by 2050 if current warming trends continue. In this context, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment in M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024), declaring—for the first time—the existence of a constitutional "right to be protected from the adverse effects of climate change" under Articles 14 and 21. This judicial recognition of climate rights represents a transformative moment in Indian jurisprudence. It shifts climate policy from a discretionary domain of the executive to a constitutionally enforceable obligation. Furthermore, the judgment signals an emerging era of climate constitutionalism in India, where the judiciary plays a central role in shaping climate governance. This study provides a comprehensive doctrinal and analytical examination of the Ranjitsinh judgment and situates it within the broader trajectory of environmental and climate litigation in India. Using a combination of case law analysis, comparative jurisprudence, climate statistics, and constitutional reasoning, the article evaluates how judicial activism addresses legislative and institutional gaps—particularly in the absence of a dedicated Climate Change Act. It further explores the implications of climate rights for environmental clearances, renewable energy transitions, habitat conservation, and intergenerational equity. The paper argues that India's judiciary is uniquely positioned to safeguard climate justice due to the expansive interpretation of fundamental rights. However, judicial intervention alone cannot substitute for a robust legislative framework. The study concludes with policy recommendations, including the need for national climate law, statutory carbon budgeting, mandatory climate impact assessments, and strengthened institutional capacity. By synthesizing legal doctrine with empirical climate data, the article contributes to scholarship on climate governance and offers a roadmap for embedding climate justice within India's constitutional, administrative, and developmental structures.
Keywords	Climate Constitutionalism; Judicial Activism; Article 21; Climate Rights; M.K. Ranjitsinh; Environmental Jurisprudence; Intergenerational Equity; Climate Governance.
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 6, November-December 2025
Published On	2025-12-14
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i06.63229

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Climate Change Litigation in India: Rising Judicial Activism Post–M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024)

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