From Sacred Waters To Legal Subjects: A Differential Jurisprudential Analysis Of River Personhood
- IJLLR Journal
- Mar 27
- 1 min read
Pushkar Singh, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar.
ABSTRACT
This research paper examines the emerging jurisprudential discourse on recognising rivers as legal persons in response to escalating environmental degradation and the limitations of traditional anthropocentric legal frameworks. It explores the doctrinal foundations of legal personality, historically extended to non-human entities such as corporations and religious institutions, to analyse whether similar recognition can strengthen ecological protection and environmental governance. Through a comparative study of developments in jurisdictions such as Ecuador, New Zealand, Colombia and Bangladesh, alongside the Indian experience in Mohd. Salim v State of Uttarakhand, the paper highlights key challenges relating to guardianship, liability, selectivity and transboundary governance. The study demonstrates that while environmental personhood possesses significant normative potential to transform river protection, its effectiveness remains constrained by the absence of clear legislative frameworks, institutional mechanisms and sustainable development balance. It concludes that a coherent river rights framework integrating participatory governance, statutory clarity and ecological sustainability is essential for operationalising environmental personhood in India.
Keywords: River personhood, Environmental jurisprudence, Legal personality, Ecocentrism, Public trust doctrine, Guardianship, Sustainable governance, Polluter pays principle, Comparative environmental law, River rights framework.
