Pollution Crisis: Environment Protection Is Every Citizen's Duty, Not Just Activists, Says Retd SC Judge Abhay S Oka

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The pollution issues cannot be resolved unless every citizen realises it is their duty to improve and conserve the environment, according to retired Supreme Court judge Abhay S Oka.

Otherwise, the former Supreme Court judge said, the responsibility would be solely confined to climate activists.

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“It is about the approach. It has been 75 years of the Constitution and we are still not doing our duty of protecting the environment,” Justice Oka (retd) told The Indian Express when asked how can environmental pollution be nipped in the bud?

“Once every citizen realises it is their duty to improve and conserve the environment, things will change. Otherwise today the responsibility is confined to some activists who try to raise issues and go to court,” he said.

Delhi residents woke up to very heavy smog and sharply reduced visibility on Monday morning, with air quality in the national capital slipping into the 'severe' category. The average air quality index (AQI) stood at 402 at 8 am, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

More than half of Delhi's 40 monitoring stations reported 'severe' air quality levels. Twelve stations were in the 'very poor' category, most hovering close to 400.

Justice Oka retired from the Supreme Court of India on 24 May, 2025, after serving for nearly four years on the bench, concluding a distinguished judicial career that began in the Bombay High Court and included a tenure as Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. Following his retirement, he joined SVKM Pravin Gandhi College of Law as an Honorary Professor of Practice.

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At a recent event, Justice Oka (retd) mentioned that not only climate activist but even judges are attacked for prioritising environment issues and passing strong orders. When asked to elaborate on these comments Justice Oka (Retd) said that climate activists actually deserved support and praise from the society.

“Instead, everybody attacks them, calling them anti-religion or anti-national,” he said.

Once every citizen realizes it is their duty to improve and conserve the environment, things will change.

As far as judges are concerned, Justice Oka (Retd) said they face attacks from social media now. He recalled a 2017 incident when he was dealing with the issue of noise pollution and construction of panda s on roads for religious festivals.

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“The Government of Maharashtra had moved an application to the Chief Justice, contending that I had a bias against the state simply because I had refused to accept its stand that no“silence zones” existed across Maharashtra following an amendment to the Noise Pollution Rule. Of course, the Bar came down very heavily on the Government and the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. The rest is history,” he said.

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