Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Challenging 'Exorbitant' Filing Fees Before NGT

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice on a plea challenging the imposition of “exorbitant” fees for filing applications, appeals and miscellaneous applications before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Dayal sought response of Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as well as the NGT.

The plea has been filed by one Ajay Dubey challenging various provisions of the National Green Tribunal (Practices and Procedure) Rules, 2011, as well as an office order imposing additional printing charges.

According to the petition, Rule 12(2) mandates a fee of Rs. 1000 for filing applications or appeals before the NGT, while Rule 12(2A) requires a minimum fee of Rs. 500 for each miscellaneous application, irrespective of its nature.

It is further alleged that the 2019 office order imposes printing costs of Rs. 100 per 25 pages, even in cases of online filing.

Dubey has said that due to the said provisions, he was compelled to pay approximately Rs. 8,200 at the initial stage itself while pursuing environmental litigation concerning a coal mining project in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh.

“….the cost and expenses payable eventually by the petitioner came to be astronomical and unaffordable, prohibiting the petitioner to pursue the pro bono proceedings before the NGT while causing extreme difficulty,” the plea said.

Dubey has further submitted that the Principal Bench of NGT here follows the mandatory pattern of online filing and the practice of offline or physical filing has completely been done away and dispensed with.

The plea said that such exorbitant fees discourage bona fide environmental litigation and undermine the State's obligation to protect forests, wildlife and the environment.

Counsel for Petitioner: Advocates Siddharth R. Gupta, Mrigank Prabhakar, Aman Agarwal, Shantanu Sharma, Surbhi Saxena, Uddaish Palya and Astha Singh

Title: AJAY DUBEY v. UNION OF INDIA, MOEF & ORS