HC Stayed NGT Order After It Was Affirmed By Supreme Court? SC Directs Registry To Communicate Its Orders To Kerala High Court
On being told that the Kerala High Court has stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal - which was earlier upheld by the Supreme Court- the Top Court recently directed its Registry to communicate its orders to the Registrar General of the High Court.A bench comprising Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar was hearing a petition filed by a lawyer contending that an order passed by the...
On being told that the Kerala High Court has stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal - which was earlier upheld by the Supreme Court- the Top Court recently directed its Registry to communicate its orders to the Registrar General of the High Court.
A bench comprising Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar was hearing a petition filed by a lawyer contending that an order passed by the National Green Tribunal, which has been affirmed by the Top Court, has been stayed by the Kerala High Court. This amounts to the High Court staying the order of the Supreme Court in effect, submitted Advocate Yeshwanth Shenoy, appearing as party-in-person.
He stated that on May 27, 2021, the NGT Southern Zone passed an order declaring as illegal the mining operations done by a granite quarry operator named M/s Cochin Granites. This NGT order was affirmed by the Supreme Court in appeal (CA 4643/2021) on August 16, 2021 and in review (RP(c) 1285/2021). However, On June 15, 2022, the Kerala High Court stayed the very same NGT order in a writ petition filed by the State of Kerala.
The petitioner further said that he later filed an application to get himself impleaded in the State's writ petition to bring the Court's attention to the Supreme Court's orders. He alleged that the State wilfully suppressed the Supreme Court's orders in the writ petition.
However, on February 17, 2022, a single bench of the High Court dismissed his impleading application saying that he is "neither a necessary or proper party in the proceedings". Also, after noting that the writ petition has produced the Supreme Court's orders as exhibits, the single bench observed that the petitioner "raised various allegations without any materials to support the same".
Challenging this order, he approached the Supreme Court.
During the admission hearing on March 24, the Supreme Court bench expressed surprise at the High Court staying an order which was previously affirmed by the Supreme Court.
"It is an extremely unfortunate situation", Shenoy submitted during the admission hearing.
The Bench issued notice and made it returnable on 17.04.2023. It directed the notice to be served upon the State through the office of the Advocate General as well as the standing counsel of the State of Kerala.
The bench noted the submission of the petitioner that the proceedings before the High Court is going on on a daily basis and that the interim order of stay if continued would be in the teeth of order passed by the Apex Court. In view of the same, it directed the Registry of the Apex Court to communicate these orders to the Registrar General of the High Court, who in turn was directed to place it before the High Court, so that it can be considered by it.
Case Title : Yeshwanth Shenoy vs State of Kerala | SLP(C) No. 5563/2023