IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND

AT NAINITAL

HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI VIPIN SANGHI

AND

HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI

3^RD JANUARY, 2023

SPECIAL APPEAL No. 466 OF 2022

Between:

Sukhivender Kaur Gill

…Appellant

and

State of Uttarakhand & others.

…Respondents

Counsel for the appellant

:

Mr. Girish Chandra Lakhchaura and Mr.

Aayush Gaur, learned counsel.

Counsel for the respondent Nos. 1 & 3 :

Mr.

B.S.

Parihar,

learned

Standing

Counsel

for

the

State

of

Uttarakhand.

Counsel for the respondent No. 4 :

Mr. Ravi Bisht, Advocate, holding brief of

Mr. Aditya Pratap Singh, learned counsel.

JUDGMENT : (per Sri Vipin Sanghi, C.J.)

The present Special Appeal is directed against the

order dated 09.12.2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in

Writ Petition No. 3142 of 2022 (M/S) preferred by the

appellant. The learned Single Judge has dismissed the said

writ petition, wherein the appellant had challenged the order

dated 26.03.2022 issued by the State Pollution Control Board,

imposing a fine of Rs. 5,00,000/- on the appellant, and the

recovery citation dated 09.11.2022 issued by respondent no.

5, to effect recovery of the said fine.

2.

The case of the appellant was that he is running a

1

small scale industry, which is manufacturing non woven fabric

(plastic carry bags). For the manufacture of the said product,

the appellant purchases raw material in clippers form, and the

thickness of the non woven fabric is 60 GSM. The respondent

no. 4 conducted inspection of the premises of the appellant

on 26.03.2022, and since the appellant was found to be

conducting its business activities in contravention of the

Uttarakhand Plastic and Other Non Biodegradable Garbage

(Regulation of Use and Disposal) Act, 2013, and the order

dated 14.10.2021 issued thereunder, fine of Rs.5,00,000/-

was imposed by the order dated 26.03.2022.

3.

The appellant challenged the imposition of fine on

the ground that the non woven fabric manufactured by the

appellant being of 60 GSM, its manufacture was permissible

under Section 4 (j) of the notification dated 12.08.2021

issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate

Change. The said notification brought into force the Plastic

Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 w.e.f. the date

of publication i.e. 12.08.2021. Post amendment, Rule 4 of

Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, insofar as, it is

relevant, reads as follows:

“(1) The manufacture, importer stocking, distribution,

sale and use of carry bags, plastic sheets or like, or

cover

made

of

plastic

sheet

and

multilayered

packaging, shall be subject to the following conditions,

namely:-

2

..........

“(j) non-woven plastic carry bag shall not be less than

60 Gram Per Square Meter (GSM) with effect from the

30th September, 2021.”

4.

The case of the appellant was that since the Plastic

Waste Management Rules, as amended in 2021, permitted

the manufacture of non woven plastic carry bags - of not less

than 60 GSM, the complete ban imposed by the State Act i.e.

Uttarakhand Plastic and Other Non Biodegradable Garbage

(Regulation of Use and Disposal) Act, 2013, (The Act of

2013), and the order dated 14.10.2020 issued under Section

3 of the Act of 2013, is illegal. According to the appellant,

there is repugnancy in the Environment (Protection) Act, and

the Rules framed by the Central Government under that Act

on the one hand, and the aforesaid Act of 2013 framed by the

State Legislature, and the order dated 14.10.2020 issued

thereunder, and, consequently, the Central Legislation and

the Rules framed thereunder would prevail, over the State

enactment, and the order issued thereunder, as aforesaid.

5.

Learned Single Judge has, however, not found

favour with the said submission and has dismissed the writ

petition. Consequently, this Appeal has been p