MG 7 Ganges Case

This case study by Natural Justice examines the legal attempt by the High Court of Uttarakhand to grant legal personhood to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers to protect them from pollution and encroachment, and the subsequent stay of that order by the Supreme Court of India.

• In March 2017, the High Court of Uttarakhand declared the Ganges and Yamuna rivers and their tributaries to be legal and living entities. This ruling granted the rivers all the rights, duties, and liabilities associated with a living person, drawing on legal precedents that recognize Hindu deities as juridical persons.
• The High Court of Uttarakhand appointed the Advocate General of the State of Uttarakhand, the Chief Secretary of the State of Uttarakhand, and the Director of Namami Gange as the legal guardians of the rivers to ensure their protection and conservation.
• The Supreme Court of India stayed the High Court's order, ruling it legally unsustainable. The Supreme Court cited several reasons for this, including the impracticality of the decision—specifically the lack of clarity on who would pay compensation for flood casualties—and the fact that the ruling interfered with the rights of other provinces through which the rivers flow.
• Critics and the Supreme Court noted that the High Court's judgment was vague and exceeded its jurisdiction. Specifically, the petitioner, Mohd. Salim, had only requested the removal of encroachments, not the granting of legal personhood. Additionally, critics questioned the effectiveness of appointing state officials as guardians given the failure of previous government conservation efforts.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). MG 7 Ganges Case. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Environmental-Court-Case-Series_Ganges-Case-Summary_Natural-Justice-2020.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. MG 7 Ganges Case. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Environmental-Court-Case-Series_Ganges-Case-Summary_Natural-Justice-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=MG 7 Ganges Case |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Environmental-Court-Case-Series_Ganges-Case-Summary_Natural-Justice-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticendganges, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{MG 7 Ganges Case}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Environmental-Court-Case-Series_Ganges-Case-Summary_Natural-Justice-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }