Mr. Akash Vashishtha is a lawyer, based out of New Delhi, practicing in various courts of India, including the Supreme Court of India, National Green Tribunal (NGT) and various High Courts and judicial forums. His areas of practice encompass various central laws, inter-alia dealing with wildlife, biodiversity, air and water pollution.

He has litigated on behalf of individuals, activists and various environmental organisations on issues related to floodplains, mining and pollution in rivers, water conservation (both groundwater as well as surface water), wetlands, lakes, ponds and other water bodies, violations of Environmental Clearances granted to projects, non-compliance of operating conditions and non-disposal of solid and other kinds of wastes, in various parts of the country. He has also represented conservationists on issues related to indiscriminate and irrational felling of trees, falling under the purview of the Tree Protection Acts enacted by various state legislatures in India.

Besides, he has been a legal counsel to several environmental and social organizations in the country. Further, Mr. Akash Vashishtha, has, himself, brought several vital environmental actions before various judicial forums in India. On most of the occasions, the Courts have been pleased to issue several important directions towards environmental preservation.

He has actively worked for the development of law, through various litigations, on green belts, urban parks, open spaces, surface concretization, river floodplains and groundwater, among others, He has worked closely with the government agencies regarding various public policies related to environment, biodiversity and sustainability and has actively worked towards creating public participation in public projects and awareness and empowerment about the rights and duties of the citizens on various aspects across the environmental spectrum.

Mr. Vashishtha is an Independent Expert member in the District Ground Water Management Council, Ghaziabad, a statutory body constituted under the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019. He is also an Independent Expert member in the District Ganga Committee, Gautam Budh Nagar, constituted under the provisions of the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. He has been a member of the District Environment Committees of Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar districts of UP, falling under the National Capital Region. He is the Founder Secretary of the Society for Protection of Environment and Biodiversity (SPENBIO), an environmental non-governmental organization. He is the Trustee of Social Action for Forests and Environment (SAFE), Founder Trustee of the Centre for Climate Change and a Founder Trustee of the Reforming Bharat Trust.

Prior to practice in Law, he has had two decades of career in Journalism, having worked for some of the biggest publications of India such as the Hindustan Times and the Mail Today (a Daily Mail, London and India Today JV). He also covered agriculture and rural development for Agriculture Today, India’s frontline business magazine on agriculture. Mr. Vashishtha has extensively covered the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Earth Sciences as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology.