Environmental Law
Delhi Air Pollution | Supreme Court Directs GRAP Stage-II With Certain GRAP-III Measures In Delhi
The Supreme Court on Thursday (December 12) directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to continue the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-II restrictions in Delhi along with certain measures from GRAP III such as water sprinkling, mechanized road sweeping, enhancing public transport and restricting entry of interstate buses.A bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih allowed the CAQM's proposal to implement GRAP Stage-III measures within Stage-II to...
Plea Seeking Measures To Mitigate Climate Change : Supreme Court Appoints Amici Curiae To Examine Laws Regulating Carbon Emissions
Recognizing the importance of the issue of carbon emissions and their impact on the environment, the Supreme Court recently appointed Advocates Jay Cheema and Sudhir Mishra as Amici Curiae to examine the existing legal framework governing emissions.A bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Manoj Misra further directed Senior Advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi for the Union of India to submit a compilation of all relevant rules and regulations related to carbon emissions.“The issue...
Supreme Court Criticizes Delhi Government's Green Cover Efforts, Proposes to Appoint External Agency To Suggest Measures
The Supreme Court on Monday (December 9) expressed dissatisfaction with the Delhi government's progress in implementing measures to enhance green cover in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih decided that it will appoint an external agency to suggest and oversee necessary measures. The amici curiae were asked to...
NGT Cannot Outsource Its Opinion To Committees & Base Its Decision On Such Opinions : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently criticised the National Green Tribunal for 'outsourcing' its opinion to a committee and basing its opinion only on the findings of the committee."The NGT is a tribunal constituted under the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010. A tribunal is required to arrive at its decision by fully considering the facts and circumstances of the case before it. It cannot outsource...
Delhi Air Pollution | 'Advocate Commissioners Risked Life To Report Violations' : Supreme Court Seeks Police's Explanation
The Supreme Court today (December 2) directed the Delhi police to provide armed protection to those Court Commissioners who wish to continue monitoring implementation of GRAP IV measures in Delhi-NCR.“Those Court Commissioners that desire to continue the work will send email to the Nodal Officer appointed by Delhi Police. Protection of armed policemen shall be given to those...
No Nexus Between Company's Revenue & Amount Of Penalty For Environmental Damages : Supreme Court Disapproves NGT's Approach
The Supreme Court expressed disapproval of an order passed by the National Green Tribunal(NGT) which imposed penalty for environmental damages on a company based on its revenue.The Court observed that there was no nexus between the revenue generation of the company and the ascertainment of penalty for violation of environmental laws.The Court was hearing an appeal filed by a company against...
Supreme Court Seeks 24/7 Monitoring Of Stubble Burning, Says State Officials Cannot Help Farmers Avoid Satellite Detection
The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 28) emphasized the need for a mechanism to monitor instances of stubble burning throughout the day, emphasising that the current satellite monitoring for only a few hours of the day is not sufficient.“What we propose to do is - we propose to hear exhaustively all the parties. Number one, that it is because of sowing dust is done belatedly, all...
Delhi Air Pollution | Will Take A Call On Banning Firecrackers, Says Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today said that it will take a call on imposing a year-round ban on firecrackers in Delhi NCR on Monday after hearing the Delhi government and NCR states.“Firecrackers we will take up in December. Because we want to hear from states also on Monday. All NCR states, one of the orders is there on NCR states. We will take a call on banning crackers”, Justice Abhay Oka...
Supreme Court Calls For Tree Census And Vigil Mechanism To Prevent Illegal Tree Felling In Taj Trapezium Zone
The Supreme Court recently emphasized the need for a tree census and a mechanism to prevent unauthorized tree felling in the environmentally sensitive Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ).A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih issued notice returnable on November 29, 2024 in a plea seeking formation of a separate committee to conduct a thorough investigation of illegal felling...
Centre Opposes Amicus's Suggestion To Form Panel Of Former SC Judges To Deal With Stubble Burning Issue
The Central Government on Friday (November 22) opposed a proposal made to constitute a committee comprising of former judges to monitor the implementation of measures to reduce stubble burning which contributes to air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The suggestion was made by Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, the amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court in the MC Mehta case.Singh told a...
Constitute State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities In 6 Weeks If Absent: Supreme Court Directs States
The Supreme Court on November 12 directed State Governments to constitute State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAA) within 6 weeks wherever they have not been formed.The above direction was made when the Court was hearing a civil appeal against an order of the National Green Tribunal which disapproved the grant of Environment Clearances in certain leases by the District...
