Supreme Court Rejects Stay on Nicobar Project Case, Sends Matter Back to Calcutta High Court

The Supreme Court on Oct 5, 2026 rejected the Union government’s request to pause the Calcutta High Court case that challenges the Great Nicobar Island development. A three‑judge panel headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant told the lower court to hear the matter without further delay. The petition, filed by former Union Environment Secretary Meena Gupta, alleges that the project endangers the fragile ecosystem and breaches the Forest Rights Act of 2006. The centre’s legal team, represented by Attorney General R Venkataramani and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, described the ₹72,000‑crore container‑terminal scheme as vital for national security and strategy. They argued that the indigenous Shompen tribe would not lose its homes. Justice Joymalya Bagchi, sitting with Justice V Mohana, warned against mixing security concerns with pure commercial aims and stressed that tribal culture enjoys constitutional protection. The National Green Tribunal has already examined the environmental clearance twice, upheld it with conditions and set up a high‑powered committee to review specific impacts. An NGT review filed in April 2023 was turned down. Nevertheless, the Calcutta High Court has taken up Gupta’s writ petitions, noting that diverting more than 130 sq km of untouched forest could violate the 2006 Act and threaten the Shompen and Nicobarese peoples. The High Court dismissed the Union’s early objection that Gupta lacked standing and scheduled hearings for Nov 25‑26 to decide on fundamental rights and tribal way of life. Senior advocate S Muralidhar, representing Gupta, said the tribal councils are now parties to the case, making the government’s procedural challenge largely moot. The Supreme Court limited its role to urging the High Court’s chief justice to deliver a prompt verdict.

Context

The Great Nicobar project is part of a broader push to boost maritime infrastructure in the Indian Ocean, but it clashes with laws that protect tribal land rights and forest cover. Such legal battles often set precedents for how development and indigenous rights are balanced in India.