Directors are collectively and vicariously liable for corporate environmental violations. Disputed factual claims regarding a director’s role and responsibility cannot be adjudicated in summary proceedings and must be determined by the trial court.

JUDGMENT :

BRIJ RAJ SINGH, J.

1. Since the common question of facts and law are involved in both the cases, therefore, they are being heard and decided by a common judgement.

2. Both the applications have been filed seeking quashing of the entire proceedings of Complaint Case No.101 of 2021, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board Vs. M/s Simplex Infrastructures Limited, under Section 37 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 ( for short ‘Air Act”) and the summoning order dated 14.03.2022 passed by the Special Judicial Magistrate, Pollution/CBI, Lucknow.

3. The facts, in nut shell, are that applicants are completely innocent and have been falsely implicated in the instant case by opposite party no.2 without ascertaining any fact regarding the functions of the company. It is said that on the basis of a written complaint filed by opposite party no.2 on 06.01.2021, a complaint case was registered before the Magistrate. However, the applicants denied the allegations made in the complaint as being false and misconceived.

4. The U.P. Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited in order to expand the Panki Thermal Power Station Plant started to establish 1 x 660 Megawatt capacity of Thermal Power Plant and the contract to construct the said power plant was given to the Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited on 31.03.2018. For the aforesaid project, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climates Change, Government of India has approved the clearance and provided ‘No Objection Certificate’ on 29.06.2017. Thereafter, U.P. Pollution Control Board has also approved the clearance to the said project vide order dated 25.06.2018. Thereafter, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited started to construct the expansion of Thermal Power Plant in the Panki, Kanpur. Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited in order to construct and complete the said project, hire some companies to do civil work for the project, thus, sublet its contract to those companies, in which M/s Simplex Infrastructure Limited is one of the companies, working and doing civil work through the sub-contract by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited from 19.12.2018. it is aid that since the entire project has got environmental clearance from the Central Government and the State Board, therefore, small companies working under the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited do not require to take further consent from the State Board under Section 21 of the Act.

5. It is further said that the complainant did not conduct any such exercise, which is indicative of the fact that applicants have ceased to be Directors of the company w.e.f. 15.03.2014 and 20.09.2016 respectively, i.e. much before the establishment of the aforesaid project at Panki, Kanpur, but they have been implicated as co-accused because only being Directors of the company. From the aforesaid fact, it is clear that opposite party no.2 without verifying the fact pertaining to the role and responsibility of the Directors of the company and without any preliminary investigation to the fact that who is In-charge and responsible on behalf of the company in the ongoing project, falsely implicated t