Reconstructing palaeoclimate from sedimentary rocks deposited in continental half-graben (rift) basins is often ambiguous due to difficulty in decoupling the relative influence of climate vis-& agrave;-vis tectonics on sedimentation patterns. The observations made so far, based on sedimentological, palynological and geochemical studies, on the prevalent palaeoclimatic conditions during the time of deposition of the Motur Formation (ca. 269 +/- 4 Ma), Satpura Gondwana Basin, India, are found to be diverging. Under such a scenario, a novel approach has been adopted to extract the unambiguous signature of prevalent palaeoclimatic conditions from the C isotope signature of plant debris (bulk organic matter) deposited with the sediments of the Motur Formation in the continental half-graben basin. The range of the delta C-13(BOM) (V-PDB) values of bulk organic matter (BOM), from the Motur sandstone, is found to be relatively wider (-24.5 parts per thousand to -17.5 parts per thousand, n=26), though a vast majority of the values straddle between -23.9 parts per thousand to -22.0 parts per thousand (Av. -22.8 +/- 0.5 parts per thousand, n=23). The C isotope composition of plant tissues (delta C-13(plant)) is influenced by photosynthesis pathways, ecosystem factors (viz. latitude, altitude, precipitation, etc.), concentration (pCO(2)) and C isotope composition (delta C-13(atm)) of CO2 in the ambient atmosphere. The mean annual precipitation (MAP) has been modelled from the observed delta C-13(BOM) (Av. -22.8 +/- 0.5 parts per thousand, n=23) approximate to delta C-13(plant) of fossil plant tissues by constraining all other influencing factors. Isotope geochemical modelling revealed that during the time of deposition of the Motur Formation, MAP ranged between 25-175 mm. Low MAP (25-175 mm) coupled with available sedimentological data, lack of coal Ieasures, presence of calcrete and reported Ioderate Iean annual air temperature (MAAT) strongly imply the prevalence of seIiarid to arid cliIate in the Satpura Gondwana Basin region during the time of deposition of the Motur Formation.