Public Trust Doctrine

Introduction

Over the years, the Public Trust Doctrine has emerged as one of the fundamental principles of the Indian judiciary to uphold the legality of a governmental action that impedes with the use of natural resources by the general public. It has been incorporated in our legal system in order to maintain a check upon the governmental authorities who seek to rob the control of state over such natural resources and bestow such control in favor of private authorities. Thus the modern applications of the ancient common law concept of Public Trust Doctrine has resulted in quite an admirable development of the Indian Legal system.

Concept of Trust

In the Common law jurisprudence, "Trust" ‘is a legal relationship between one person having equitable ownership in the property and another person owning the legal title to such property’. Thus in relation to the Public Trust Doctrine, the legal title is bestowed in the state and the equitable title in the public. Thus the state acts as the ‘trustee’ to manage the property in the interest of the public.

Definition

The Public Trust Doctrine primarily rests on the principle that some natural resources like air, sea, water and forests have such great significance to the people as a whole and it would not be justified to render them to private ownership.

Thus Public Trust Doctrine acts as a shield to protect the public right to many natural resources including “the air, running water, the sea and its shore”.

Origin

The origin of this doctrine can be traced back to the Roman era and with the passage of time it has been extended thereby placing a duty on the state to hold environmental resources in trust for the benefit of the public. According to the Institutes of Justinian, “by the law of nature, these things are common to mankind the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shores of the sea.[i]”

Under English common law, however, the State could own these resources but the ownership was limited in nature, the Crown couldn't grant these properties to personal owners if the effect was to interfere with the general public interests.

However with time, the Roman principles of acquisition of property which were originally based on the premise of abundance, due to scarcity of resources are now based on the principle of maintenance of ecological balance in the society.

Purpose

• It directs the state to take actions for effective management of resources
• It authorizes the citizens to question ineffective management of natural resources
• It is used as a leverage during policy deliberations and public scoping session and hearings
• It is also used by courts as an instrument to protect the environment from all types of degradation

According to Prof. Sax, in his article “The Public Trust Doctrine in Natural Resource Law: Effective Judicial Intervention”[ii], expressed that the Public trust doctrine imposes 3 types of restrictions on the governmental authorities:-

1. The property subject to the trust must be used for a public purpose and must be held available to be used by the final public
   2. The property mustn't be sold, even for fair certificate of indebtedness
   3. The property must be maintained for particular forms of uses

Doctrine of Public Trust in India

The Doctrine of Public Trust is closely related to the Right to life (Article 21) under the Indian Constitution as it recognizes the need and importance of protection and preservation of nature’s gifts without which life ceases to be possible, which was the objective behind the extension and inclusion of right to a healthy environment under Article 21. In other words, the Public Trust Doctrine has grown from Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Also Article 39B of the Indian Constitution gives the right to the state to direct its policies to ensure equal distribution of ownership and control of material resources in order to serve the common good.

In addition, Article 47 of the Indian Constitution provides that the ‘The State shall endeavor to safeguard and improve the environment and to protect the forests and wildlife of the country’

Thus when the Indian courts initially applied this doctrine, they considered it not only as a new international legal concept but one, which already existed in their judicial system.

The Indian courts have applied this doctrine explicitly in 3 cases, firstly in 1997 and then in1999. In M.C Mehta v. Kamal Nath, the issue raised was whether the construction activity carried out on the bank of river Beas by the Motel Company justified? The court held that the Public Trust Doctrine is a part of the law of land, and thus the construction activity was held illegal and the motel was ordered to pay compensation.

Further in Th. Majra Singh v. Indian Oil Corporation, the issue before the High Court was whether the location of the plant for filling the cylinders with liquefied petroleum gas was justified or not? Thus in this case, after the application of Precautionary Principle, the court held that the respondent authorities are free to go ahead with their project but due precautions have to be taken by them so that no pollution is caused, and accordingly the petition was dismissed. Though the judgment was based upon the “Precautionary Principle”, the High Court was of the opinion that the Public Trust Doctrine is a part as well as a product of Article 21 and has also found its place in the Law of Land, thus it cannot be ignored when it comes to maintaining a balance between environmental protection and the needs of human.

In another landmark judgment, M.I Builders v. Radhey Shyam Sahu, the issue before the Supreme Court was whether the construction of an underground shopping complex by demolishing a park was violative of the Public Trust Doctrine or not? The court after attaching the Public Trust Doctrine to the fundamental’ Right to Life’ held that maintenance of a park forms a part of environmental necessity and thus is in itself a public purpose, thus the construction of an underground shopping complex with the objective of decongesting the area was completely contrary and against the public purposes. Thus the court ordered the demolition of the underground shopping complex.

Conclusion

A human’s lust for power has no limits and he can go to any extent to satisfy it, and if these natural resources also become a subject of private ownership, the day is near when wars would take place by exhausting these resources just to establish one’s claim on these resources. Thus in order to maintain a sustainable balance both ecologically and socially in the society, the Public Trust Doctrine plays an integral role in maintaining such balance which not only helps in fulfilling the need and wants of the present generation but also ensures the optimum availability of these resources for the future generations.

Author is Priyana Gupta, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, 2nd year

References

1. Institute of Justanian
2. Prof Sax- “The Public Trust Doctrine in Natural Resource Law: Effective Judicial Intervention”, Michigan Law Review , Vol.68, No 3
3. M.C Mehta v. Kamal Nath (1997)1 SCC 388
4. Th. Majra Singh v. Indian Oil Corporation AIR 1999 J&K 81
5. M.I Builders v. Radhey Shyam Sahu AIR 1999 SC 2468