LOCHAMESH B. HUGAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these petitions, an important issue touching the lives of human beings has come up for consideration namely, WATER which is one of the basic necessities for human existence. Several debates, discussions, deliberations, seminars across the world is being held or conducted on this vital subject since it has effects on the very existence of the human race. Water is considered a purifier in most religions. Major faiths that incorporate ritual washing (ablution) include Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Rastafari movement, Shinto, Taoism, and Wicca. Immersion (or aspersion or affusion) of a person in water is a central sacrament of Christianity (where it is called baptism); it is also a part of the practice of other religions, including Islam (Ghusl), Judaism (mikvah) and Sikhism (Amrit Sanskar).

(2.) Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H20. Water covers 70.9% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life. On Earth, 96.5% of the planet's water is found in oceans, 1.7% in groundwater, 1.7% in Glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction in other large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Only 2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice and groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products.

(3.) Safe drinking water is essential to humans and other life forms. Access to safe drinking water has improved over the last decades in almost every part of the world, but approximately one billion people still lack access to safe water. However, some observers have estimated that by 2025 A.D. more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability. A recent report by World Health Organisation (November 2009) suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50% and thereby water plays an important role in the world economy.