IMPORTANT POINT
The court declined to entertain the writ petition invoking the doctrine of forum conveniens, holding that the appropriate forum to consider the challenge to the NGT's orders would be the Gujarat High Court, considering the public interest and criminal proceedings initiated in Gujarat.

JUDGMENT :

A.S. Chandurkar, J.

1. The challenge raised in this writ petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is to the order dated 18th January 2022 passed by the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi taking suo motu cognizance of a newspaper report dated 7th January 2022 published in daily “The Indian Express” reporting the death of six persons and rendering about twenty persons to be sick in view of a gas leak at the industrial area in Surat. The petitioner has also challenged the order dated 23rd September 2022 passed by the Principal Bench, National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, wherein the report of the Joint Committee that was constituted pursuant to the earlier order dated 18th January 2022 came to be considered and various directions came to be issued. During pendency of the writ petition, another order dated 24th March 2023 passed by the Principal Bench, National Green Tribunal, New Delhi issuing further directions in the matter of compensating victims of the said gas leak is also under challenge by amending the writ petition. The petitioner further seeks a declaration that the Principal Bench, National Green Tribunal, New Delhi lacks territorial jurisdiction to hear Original Application No.5 of 2022 as well as Miscellaneous Application No.46 of 2022 since it is only the Western Zone of the said Tribunal that has territorial jurisdiction to consider the proceedings.

2. By an interim order dated 24th March 2023, the parties to the writ petition were directed not to act upon the order passed by the Principal Bench, National Green Tribunal, New Delhi accepting the reports dated 31st May 2022 and 4th June 2022 for a period of one week. The said interim order was continued by the orders dated 30th March 2023, 13th April 2023, 25th April 2023, 14th June 2023 and 7th July 2023. Though the writ petition was to be considered on 21st July 2023, it was placed before the Court only on 6th December 2023 for considering Interim Application (Lodging) No.30428 of 2023 moved by the second respondent-Gujarat State Pollution Board for vacating the interim order dated 24th March 2023. The Court observed that from the record it could be seen that the interim order dated 24th March 2023 was not continued after 21st July 2023. On that premise, it was held that the prayer for vacating the interim order would not arise and hence no orders were required in that regard. The said Interim Application was disposed of.

This order dated 6th December 2023 was the subject matter of challenge before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No.28472/2023. By the order dated 5th January 2024, the Hon’ble Supreme Court granted liberty to the petitioner to move this Court in the present writ petition either for seeking extension of stay or for moving a fresh application for grant of interim relief. It directed that no coercive steps be taken against the petitioner for a period of four weeks from 5th January 2024 to enable the petitioner to take the aforesaid steps. It is in the aforesaid backdrop that the writ petition has been considered by us. On behalf of the respondents and especially the second and seventh respondent, an objection to the maintainability of the writ petition has been raised on various counts. We have accordingly heard the learned counsel for the parties on the issue of maintainability of the writ petition.

FACTUAL ASPECTS

3. To consider the issue with regard to the maintainability of the writ petition in the light of the objection as taken, it would be necessary to briefly refer to the relevant facts giving rise to the present proceedings. It is the case of the petitioner that it is engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of Agro Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals having its Units at Taloja and Mahad within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court. It also has its units in the State of Gujarat and Karnataka. On 30th December 2021, the petitioner claims that Sangam Envi