'Nationwide Health Emergency': Plea Filed In Top Court Over Air Pollution

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking urgent judicial intervention in the "nationwide public health emergency" caused by escalating air pollution across India.

The petition, filed by wellness advocate and Fit India Movement champion Luke Christopher Countinho, said that despite a dense statutory framework and repeated policy announcements, air quality in both rural and urban regions continues to remain "consistently poor, dangerous, and violative of the fundamental right to life".

"The situation has reached a point where over 1.4 billion citizens are compelled to inhale toxic air every single day - a direct infringement of Article 21," the plea added.

The writ petition highlighted that annual averages of PM2.5 and PM10 in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, and Patna regularly exceed the permissible limits prescribed under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), notified by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

It further noted that records PM2.5 concentrations of around 105 microgrammes/cubic metre, nearly 20 times the WHO's recommended safe limit of 5 microgrammes/cubic metre.

"This persistent and systemic failure has occurred despite the Air Act, the Environment Protection Act, the National Clean Air Programme (2019), and multiple regulatory bodies, including the Commission for Air Quality Management," the petition contended, adding that monitoring infrastructure remains "inadequate" and implementation "weak, fragmented, and largely symbolic".

"Air pollution is no longer merely an environmental issue - it is a rapidly growing industrial and policy sector, reflecting both the severity of the crisis and the opportunity for systemic intervention," the petition said.

It contended that even for citizens who follow wellness practices centred on yoga, nutrition and lifestyle modification, "the very foundation of health - access to clean air - is denied", undermining national health initiatives and exposing millions to severe respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological risks.

The PIL has urged the Supreme Court to issue time-bound directions to ensure meaningful reduction of ambient air pollution, strengthen the country's monitoring infrastructure with adequate coverage in both urban and rural regions, and effectively enforce the Air Act and other environmental laws.

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