Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2024 Supreme(Online)(NGT) 4405

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL NEW DELHI (PRINCIPAL BENCH)
PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, CJ, ARUN KUMAR TYAGI, J, DR. A. SENTHIL VEL, ACJ, DR. AFROZ AHMAD, ACJ
Ashwani Kumar Dubey – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
Original Application No. 164/2018 | Original Application No. 194/2020 | Original Application No. 94/2020 | Original Application No. 148/2020 | Original Application No. 107/2020 | Original Application No. 117/2014 | Original Application No. 499/2014 | Original Application No. 102/2014

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. Chetan Sharma, Mr. Kaustubh Anshuraj, Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Mr. Sanjay Jain, Mr. Adarsh Tripathi, Mr. Uttam Kumar Mandal, Mr. Vikram S. Baid, Mr. Rajat Jariwal, Ms. Prerna Singh, Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Mr. Shubham Bhalla, Ms. Ragini Sharma, Mr. Balendu Shekhar, Ms. Tanisha Samantra, Mr. Debarshi Bhadra, Mr. Ankit Verma, Mr. Pradeep Misra, Mr. Daleep Dhyani, Mr. Rahul Khurana, Mr. Raj Kumar, Mr. Raghav Sharma, Mr. Avijit Roy, Ms. Rukhmini Bobde, Ms. Amlaan Kumar, Mr. Dhananjay Baijal, Mr. Arnab Ray, Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, Mr. Prang Newmai, Mr. Kumar Anurag Singh, Mr. Dev Aarya, Mr. Hitendra Nath Rath, Ms. Laxmi, Mr. Nishe Rajen Shonker, Mr. Jogy Scaria, Mr. Aaditya Vijaykumar, Ms. Puja Kalra, Mr. Darpan KM, Mr. Rajat Jonathan Shaw, Mr. Mukesh Verma, Ms. Vatsala Tripathi, Mr. Ashish Prasad, Ms. Pruthvi Dhinoja, Ms. Hasnat Nazki
For the Respondents:[No specific names indicated for respondents]

The principles of natural justice must be adhered to, requiring full opportunity for objections before tribunal decisions to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.

Headnote:(A) Natural Justice - Principles of Natural Justice - Non-compliance with principles of natural justice led to the setting aside of the NGT order dated 18.01.2022 by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court remanded the matter to the NGT for reconsideration, instructing that all parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to file objections before a decision is made. (Paras 18, 19).

(B) Environmental Standards - The modification of emission standards mandated by the NGT was deemed impermissible without amending existing rules, highlighting the need for the CPCB to conduct a feasibility study for emission standards considerably exceeding statutory requirements. (Paras 10, 12)

Facts of the case:
Multiple original applications were filed against the Union of India and various industrial respondents concerning the enforcement of environmental regulations and compliance with NGT orders amidst concerns regarding pollution standards and practices.

Findings of Court:
The court directed a re-examination of the emission standards by the CPCB, emphasizing the need for broader consultations, and established guidelines for compliance timelines.

Issues: The central issues addressed include the compliance with natural justice principles, the feasibility of new emission standards for industries, and the adherence of various applicants to previous NGT recommendations.

Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that compliance with natural justice is paramount and that any deviation must be addressed through proper channels, asserting that emergency emission standards cannot supplant legal requirements without legitimate amendments to the ruling statutes.

Result: Appeals allowed in modified terms.

Table of Content
1. natural justice principles must be complied with. (Para 1 , 2)
2. multiple applications concerning environmental regulations filed. (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8)
3. re-examination of emission standards is necessary. (Para 9 , 10 , 11)
4. monitor government compliance with orders. (Para 12 , 13 , 14 , 15)

ORDER

1. Tribunal by order dated 18.01.2022 had disposed of the OA 164/2018, OA 194/2020, OA 94/2020, OA 148/2020, OA 107/2020, OA 117/2014, OA 499/2014 and OA 102/2014. The order of the Tribunal dated 18.01.2022 was subject matter of challenge before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeals No. 3856/2022, 4529/2022, 4525/2022 and 4581/2022, mainly on the ground of non-compliance of principles of ‘Natural Justice’. Hon’ble Supreme Court by order dated 05.07.2023 has allowed the appeals and remanded the matter by setting aside the order of the Tribunal dated 18.01.2022 and by observing as under:-

“18. We have perused the impugned order of the NGT and particularly paragraph ‘16’ which has been extracted above. It is apparent that the appellant(s) herein who were respondents before the NGT were not given an opportunity to file their objections to the recommendations made by the Committee constituted by the NGT which is apparent by the fact that the recommendations were uploaded on 15.01.2022 and the final order of the NGT was passed three days later on, i.e. 18.01.2022. Thus, this is a clear case of there being non compliance with the principles of natural justice. On the said ground alone the impugned order is set aside, the matter is remanded to the NGT for re-consideration from the stage of the recommendations filed by the expert Committee constituted by the NGT. The appellant(s) herein are permitted to file their objections, if they are so advised. The NGT shall consider the objections, if any, filed to the recommendations and thereafter dispose of the applications in accordance with law and after giving a reasonable opportunity to all parties.

19. The appeals are allowed and disposed of in the aforesaid terms.Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.”

2. The Tribunal on 02.11.2023 had directed the Registry to issue notice to all the parties in these OAs.

3. It has been pointed out by Counsel for HINDALCO that the I.A. 384/2019 and I.A. No. 558/2019 have wrongly been listed today and these IAs were dismissed/disposed of vide order dated 17.10.2019.

4. Since, I.A. 384/2019 and I.A. No. 558/2019 have been dismissed/disposed of, therefore, office is directed not to list the said IAs.

5. He has also pointed out that orders of the Tribunal dated 28.08.2018 17.10.2019 passed in OA 164/2018 were subject matter of challenge at the instance of HINDALCO before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 15-16/2020 wherein Hon’ble Supreme Court on 17.12.2019 had passed the following interim order:-

“Delay condoned.

Application seeking exemption from filing certified copy of the impugned order is allowed.

Application for stay submitted in Court taken on record.

Issue notice.

In the meantime, there shall be stay of the impugned order in terms of prayer (i).”

6. He has further pointed out that the above Civil Appeals have been decided by the Hon’ble Supreme Court by order dated 04.07.2023 by directing as under:-

“10. It is apparent that the appellant’s concern that a new standard other than what has been prescribed by the statute, has been mandated is borne out. Entry 70 of the First Schedule to the Rules stipulates that for boilers with the capacity of 15 ton per hour or more, the emission standard is 150 mg/Nm3. The NGT was persuaded to accept the suggestions of the Committee, which recommended a stringent standard i.e. 50 mg/Nm3. While this was not permissible without amendment of Rules, at the same time this Court is alive of the fact that the Committee constituted by the NGT comprised of distinguished technical experts who, in their wisdom, recommended that the standard for the appellant ought to be 50 mg/Nm3, thoug

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