New Delhi, – India’s Supreme Court on Friday put on hold a ruling that gave Hinduism’s most sacred rivers the status of a living entity, granting them the same legal rights as a human being.
The ruling by a high court in the Uttarakhand in March meant anyone polluting the Ganges or the Yamuna or harming them could be penalised the way a court can punish someone who hurts a human being.
Environmentalists had hailed the ruling, saying it would boost efforts to clean up the highly-polluted rivers
originating in the Himalayan state.
“Today’s order means the Uttarakhand court ruling cannot be implemented,” said Manoj Pant, the lawyer who
originally moved a petition citing pollution and encroachment on the Ganges.
“The Supreme Court issued a notice to us to furnish a response in three weeks’ time after which it would finally
rule on the matter,” he said over the phone.
The landmark ruling in March came days after New Zealand became the first country to declare a river, the
Whanganui River, revered by the indigenous Maoris, a living entity with full legal rights.
Media reports said the Uttarakhand government challenged the ruling in June saying it was “unsustainable in
law.”
Giving the status meant that in case of human casualties in a flood, the victims could file for damages against
state officials, it argued, questioning how it could be liable to bear such a financial burden.
The court also erred in not considering Ganges and Yamuna as inter-state rivers, which meant the onus of framing
rules connected with the rivers lay on the federal government