IMPORTANT POINT
Statutory provisions specifying jurisdiction should be scrupulously followed.

ORDER

G.S. SINGHVI, J.

1. Whether the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court could have entertained and allowed the petition filed by respondent No.1 as Public Interest Litigation for setting aside order dated 31.12.2008 passed by National Environment Appellate Authority (for short, ‘NEAA’) and remanded the case to the competent quasi judicial forum for being decided on merits.

2. The appellant is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956. Its registered office is at Raipur (Chhattisgarh). On 27.6.2007, the appellant submitted an application to Chhattisgarh Environment and Conservation Board (respondent No.3) for sanctioning the proposed expansion of its existing plant at Naharpali, Kharsia, Raigarh. Respondent No.3 issued notice dated 4.8.2007 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and the Rules framed thereunder for holding public hearing. As many as 700 persons participated in the public hearing. Thereafter, respondent No.3 sent report dated 4.10.2007 to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (respondent No.2), which granted environmental clearance for the project of the appellant.

3. Two days before the date fixed for public hearing, Shri Ramesh Agrawal and two others, namely, Ms. Ranjana Rajput and Mr. Vinod Chhaparlya filed Civil Suit No.30-A/ 2007 in the Court of District Judge, Raigarh (for short, ‘the trial Court’) impleading the appellant as a defendant and prayed for grant of a declaration that the appellant had illegally set up industry at Villages Naharpali, Bhupdevpur, Salihabhata and Singhanpur. They further prayed for ordering closure of the industry and for issue of a permanent injunction against the holding of public hearing for expansion of the existing industry and / or establishment of any new industry by the appellant.

4. Along with the suit, the plaintiffs filed an application under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 CPC for stay of the public hearing. By order dated 4.8.2007, the trial Court dismissed the application for temporary injunction. After six days, Shri Ramesh Agrawal and two others filed another application for injunction but no order appears to have been passed on that application.

5. After 2 months and 20 days of rejection of the injunction application filed by Shri Ramesh Agrawal and two others, Shri Ram Kumar Agarwal and Shri Ramesh Sharma filed Writ Petition No.5534/2007 before the Chhattisgarh High Court under the name and style of “Ekta Parishad” and prayed that the State Government may be directed to conduct an inquiry into the correctness and genuineness of the Environment Impact Assessment Report prepared by respondent No.3. Later on, the writ petitioners withdrew their cause.

6. The environment clearance granted by respondent No.2 was challenged by respondent No.1 by filing an appeal under the National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997 (for short, ‘the 1997 Act’). On notice, respondent No.3 filed reply and pleaded that environment clearance was granted to the appellant in accordance with law. NEAA dismissed the appeal of respondent No.1 vide order dated 31.12.2008 by recording the following observations:

"10. The Counsel for Appellant submitted the proceedings of the draft constitution of Jan Chetna on 24.11.2008 without supporting affidavit which was required to be filed under the NEAA Rules, 1997 for taking responsibility of the authenticity of the facts stated in the document. The Counsel for the Appellant mentioned that the affidavit is required to be filed only while filing the Memorandum of Appeal under the NEAA Rules and not with the subsequent document. The Authority perused the draft proceedings of the meeting dated 15.2.2005 and observed that only 10 persons have formed the association called "Jan Chetna". Out of 10 members only two members complete address are given in the proceedings. From the addresses so given, it may be inferred that none of the members of "Jan Chetna" belong to Naharpali, Kharsia, Raigarh, the project area. Further the mi