The Supreme Court on Monday set aside NGT orders imposing a Rs 18 crore fine on a company for the alleged violation of environmental norms by its sugar mill in UP and said “in the quest for doing justice, NGT has ended up doing just the reverse”.
A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed the appeals of M/s Triveni Engineering and Industries Ltd as it set aside two orders of the National Green Tribunal of February 15, 2022, and September 16, 2022, observing the NGT passed the verdicts in violation of statutory procedure and the principles of natural justice.
Justice Bhuyan, who authored the 64-page verdict was critical of the NGT's orders and said, “Ordinarily, in a case where there is violation of the principles of natural justice, parties are relegated to the adjudicatory forum to re-do the exercise after following the due process. But in this case, the entire exercise has been vitiated because of non-conforming to the laid down procedure contemplated under Sections 21 and 22 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974." Finding fault with the procedures adopted by the NGT, the verdict said relegating the parties back to the green tribunal would serve “no useful purpose”.
“As we have noticed above, this is a classic case where in the quest for doing justice, NGT has ended up doing just the reverse,” it noted.
The bench, however, clarified the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) could carry out an inspection and take remedial measures over the alleged violations.
“It is crystal clear that the impugned decisions which entail adverse civil consequences upon the appellant were passed without following the due procedure laid down under the statute as well as the elementary principles of natural justice. We, therefore, have no hesitation in declaring such orders to be illegal and null and void,” it held.
The top court underlined it was all the more necessary for the NGT, which exercises judicial functions, to adhere to a fair procedure which was statutorily laid down and of which principles of natural justice were an "inalienable part".
The bench said the NGT constituted a joint committee to carry out an inspection of the sugar mill of the appellant vis-a-vis maintenance of pollution control measures and discharge of effluents.
“This is an adhoc committee when the Water Act, more particularly Sections 21 and 22 thereof, clearly prescribe a statutory procedure to be followed while carrying out such inspection to examine pollution, if any, or the extent of pollution caused by the project proponent and to suggest remedial measures,” it said.
The joint committee report was found to have been “silent" on whether it had followed the procedure laid down in the Act.
“NGT did not deem it appropriate to get the appellant impleaded as a party respondent...though the entire proceedings were directed against it,” the top court said.
The bench further observed no opportunity was granted to the appellant to contest the report of the joint committee.
"Thus, there is clear violation of the provisions contained in Section 19 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010,” it added.
The NGT was found to have accepted the report of the joint committee without any adjudication on it.
“Environmental compensation was quantified without any adjudication and without granting any opportunity of hearing to the appellant,” it said.
The case stemmed from a plea filed by one Chandra Shekhar before the NGT, where it was alleged the Khatauli-based sugar unit of Triveni Engineering was discharging untreated effluents into local drains, leading to contamination of groundwater up to 50-metre deep within a 1.5 kilometer radius.
Acting on the plea, the NGT constituted a joint committee comprising representatives of the CPCB, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and the District Magistrate, Muzaffarnagar.
Based on inspections conducted in December 2021, the committee reported multiple lapses leading to imposition of fine.
With inputs from PTI
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