The court held that penalties against public officials for violating tribunal orders must be supported by evidence of willful misconduct, and officials without sufficient authority cannot be penalized under the National Green Tribunal Act.

JUDGMENT :

(ABHAY S. OKA, J.)

1. The issue involved in these appeals is very limited. Whether the appellants can be subjected to a penalty by the National Green Tribunal (for short ‘the NGT’) in exercise of powers under Section 26 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (for short ‘the NGT Act’) on account of their failure to comply with the orders passed by it. The appellants are Dr. I.S. Tomar, the then Mayor of the Municipal Corporation, Bareilly (in Civil Appeal Nos. 4599-4601 of 2014) the Municipal Corporation, Bareilly and its Commissioner (in Civil Appeal Nos. 5631-5633 of 2024).

2. These appeals arise from the judgment dated 24th October 2013, of the NGT, wherein the NGT, inter alia, found that the Mayor and the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Bareilly, had violated the orders dated 28th May 2013 and 18th July 2013. Accordingly, the NGT punished the Mayor and Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Bareilly, with civil imprisonment till rising of the Court and a payment of a fine of Rs.5 lakhs each. The NGT also imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh per day on the Municipal Corporation, Bareilly, for causing degradation to the environment and injury to public health for the period from 28th May 2013 to 27th July 2013. Paragraph No. 45 of the impugned Judgment reads thus:

“45. Having given our serious consideration to the matters and issues before us and in view of the findings recorded supra, we pass the following orders and directions:

(i) We accept the unconditional apology tendered by the Respondent No.5 for making such undesirable remarks in his Press interview and therefore decline to initiate criminal or other proceedings against him for bringing disrepute to the Tribunal and committing contempt of the Tribunal. The notice issued and the proceedings against him to that extent are hereby dropped.

(ii) For intentionally violating the orders dated 28th May, 2013 and 18th July, 2013, Dr. I.S. Tomar, Mayor and Sh. Umesh Pratap Singh, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Bareilly, are punished with civil imprisonment till rising of the court and payment of Five lakh Rupees each.

(iii) For causing degradation to environment and injury to public health for the period from 28th May, 2013 to 27th July, 2013, the Municipal Corporation of Bareilly shall pay a sum of One lakh Rupees per day.

(iv) We direct that all amounts payable by the respondents under this order would be deposited with the Deputy Commissioner, Bareilly, as Chairperson of the Committee constituted under this order and all these amounts shall be utilised for complying with the directions contained in this order and if any amount still remains unspent, the same shall be used for setting up of an STP at an approved site in accordance with law.

(v) We constitute a Committee consisting of the following:-

a. Deputy Commissioner, Bareilly- Chairperson

b. Member Secretary, U.P. Pollution Control Board

c. Director (Public Health), Government of U.P.

d. One representative of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), being an Expert to be nominated by the Secretary, MoEF.

(vi) Respondents No.4 and 5 shall remove the entire municipal solid waste from the site in question within four weeks from the date of passing of this order and restore the site and environment to its original condition (as it existed prior to the establishment and operation of the MSWM plant).

(vii) We also reiterate our direction that no municipal solid waste shall be dumped at the site in question so as to prevent environmental pollution, contamination of underground water and injury to the public health. The said respondents shall dump the municipa