M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Taj Trapezium Case)
(1997) 2 SCC 353 · Supreme Court of India
Environmental lawyer M.C. Mehta filed a PIL over air pollution from industries around the Taj Mahal that was visibly damaging the monument's marble — sulphur dioxide emissions were causing "marble cancer," yellowing the white marble.
The Court ordered roughly 292 polluting industries in the Taj Trapezium Zone to switch to natural gas or relocate elsewhere, prioritising the protection of a national heritage monument and public health over the industries' continued operation as-is.
One of India's most cited examples of a court directly ordering industrial relocation for environmental protection — part of a wider set of M.C. Mehta cases that essentially built modern Indian environmental law through public interest litigation.
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