- Legal battles surrounding the massive Great Nicobar Project have involved both the Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court through Public Interest Litigations (PILs). - Questions have been raised regarding forum shopping, jurisdiction, and the appropriate judicial forums for challenging large-scale infrastructure and environmental clearances in ecologically sensitive areas. - The project has faced intense scrutiny from environmentalists and legal experts due to its potential impact on biodiversity, tribal welfare, and fragile ecosystems in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. - The Supreme Court's intervention highlights ongoing tensions between large-scale strategic infrastructure development and environmental jurisprudence in India. - **Great Nicobar Project:** A massive ₹72,000+ crore infrastructure and development scheme on Great Nicobar Island comprising a transhipment port, airport, and township, facing intense legal scrutiny over ecological degradation and tribal rights. - **Public Interest Litigation (PIL):** A legal mechanism allowing individuals or groups to approach courts for the protection of public interest or enforcement of fundamental rights of marginalized or vulnerable populations, relaxing strict locus standi rules. - **Supreme Court:** India's apex judicial body possessing original, appellate, and writ jurisdiction, which recently upheld the maintainability of environmental PILs challenging major infrastructure projects like the Great Nicobar development. - **Calcutta High Court:** A constitutional court exercising writ jurisdiction that entertained PILs against the Great Nicobar Project, ruling that national importance does not exempt projects from judicial scrutiny. **Introduction** Legal challenges to the ecologically controversial Great Nicobar Project have unfolded across multiple judicial forums, including the Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court, via Public Interest Litigations (PILs). The case brings to light critical issues regarding environmental governance, judicial jurisdiction, forum shopping, and the balance between national security/infrastructure development and environmental protection in sensitive island ecosystems. **Core Issue and Detailed Points** - Legal battles surrounding the massive Great Nicobar Project have involved both the Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court through Public Interest Litigations (PILs). - Questions have been raised regarding forum shopping, jurisdiction, and the appropriate judicial forums for challenging large-scale infrastructure and environmental clearances in ecologically sensitive areas. - The project has faced intense scrutiny from environmentalists and legal experts due to its potential impact on biodiversity, tribal welfare, and fragile ecosystems in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. - The Supreme Court's intervention highlights ongoing tensions between large-scale strategic infrastructure development and environmental jurisprudence in India. **Key Statutory Bodies, Acts & Concepts** - **Great Nicobar Project:** A massive ₹72,000+ crore infrastructure and development scheme on Great Nicobar Island comprising a transhipment port, airport, and township, facing intense legal scrutiny over ecological degradation and tribal rights. - **Public Interest Litigation (PIL):** A legal mechanism allowing individuals or groups to approach courts for the protection of public interest or enforcement of fundamental rights of marginalized or vulnerable populations, relaxing strict locus standi rules. - **Supreme Court:** India's apex judicial body possessing original, appellate, and writ jurisdiction, which recently upheld the maintainability of environmental PILs challenging major infrastructure projects like the Great Nicobar development. - **Calcutta High Court:** A constitutional court exercising writ jurisdiction that entertained PILs against the Great Nicobar Project, ruling that national importance does not exempt projects from judicial scrutiny.