Supreme Court clears Art of Living of Yamuna floodplain damage liability

The Supreme Court has set aside a 2017 National Green Tribunal order that held the Art of Living Foundation responsible for damaging the Yamuna floodplains during its 2016 World Culture Festival. In a judgment delivered on Saturday, August 22, 2026, the apex court ruled that there was no direct evidence linking the event to environmental harm and directed the Delhi Development Authority to refund a Rs 5 crore deposit made by the organization.

The bench, comprising Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and N. Kotiswar Singh, found that the National Green Tribunal had failed to establish a causal link between the festival and the alleged degradation of the floodplain. The court noted there was ample material showing the event site was already in a dilapidated condition before it was handed over to the organizers. It criticized the tribunal for relying too heavily on an expert committee's report about preparatory work without considering evidence of the site's pre-existing damaged state.

The World Culture Festival was held from March 11 to 13, 2016, on approximately 25 hectares of the Yamuna floodplain in Delhi. The event, which attracted over 3.5 million attendees from 155 countries, had...