Public Trust Doctrine

Basically, the ancient Roman Empire developed this legal theory i.e. Doctrine of the Public Trust. The Public Trust Doctrine primarily rests on the principle that certain resources like air, sea, waters and the forests have such a great importance to the people as a whole that it would be wholly unjustified to make them a subject of private ownership. The said resources being a gift of nature, they should be made freely available to everyone irrespective of the status in life. The doctrine enjoins upon the Government to protect the resources for the enjoyment of the general public rather than to permit their use for private ownership or commercial purposes. Public trust doctrine

Articles 48A and 51A and within it specifically clauses (f) , (g) and (i) of the Constitution also furnish the principles of jurisprudence, which are fundamental to our governance under the Rule of Law.

The doctrine is first mentioned in M.C. Mehta v Kamal Nath and others where the Indian Supreme Court applied public trust with regard to the protection and preservation of natural resources. In this case, the State Government granted lease of riparian forestland to a private company for commercial purpose. The purpose of the lease was to build a motel at the bank of the River Beas. A report published in a national newspaper alleged that the motel management interfered with the natural flow of the river in order to divert its course and to save the motel from future floods. The Supreme Court initiated suo motu action based on the newspaper item because the facts disclosed, if true, would be a serious act of environmental

Mahapalika allowed the commercial shopping complex to be built upon a public park in clear defiance of the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Adhiniyam 1959. In addition, the Mahapalika violated the public trust doctrine and the Court ordered the demolition of the unauthorized shopping complex. The Supreme Court, in M.I. Builders reconfirmed that the public trust doctrine is established in the Indian legal system and asserted that the public authorities should act as trustees of natural resources. However, it is clear from all these cases that the court did not confer any property right on the public under the trust. While applying the public trust doctrine, the Court in all these cases, took account of either the polluter pays the principle or the precautionary principle or both. In the Kamal Nath case, the Supreme Court and in the Th. Majra Singh case, the High court applied the public trust doctrine along with other principles such as the precautionary principle and polluter pays principle. Moreover, in Kamal Nath case, the Supreme Court directed, inter alia, that the lease be quashed and the full cost of restoration of the land to its original natural condition be paid by the