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Improper Disposal Of Hazardous Waste: Gujarat HC Grants Bail To Director Of Chemical Company, Says Transporter Liable To Ensure Waste Reaches Treatment Plant
LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK
21 March 2022 10:04 AM GMT
The Gujarat High Court recently granted bail to the Director of a chemical company, in connection with disposal of the hazardous waste material produced by it in a creek, causing injury to two persons.The Bench comprising Justice Gita Gopi noted that the company had entered into an agreement with M/S Sangam for transporting the waste material to the treatment plant in accordance to...
The Gujarat High Court recently granted bail to the Director of a chemical company, in connection with disposal of the hazardous waste material produced by it in a creek, causing injury to two persons.
The Bench comprising Justice Gita Gopi noted that the company had entered into an agreement with M/S Sangam for transporting the waste material to the treatment plant in accordance to CPCB Co-processing guidelines 2016 and 201. Thus, it held,
"Sangam was authorised to provide the work of collection, transportation of hazardous waste material to Dalmia Cement Bharat Limited plants at Odhisa, Karnataka and Bihar, and the authorisation for transportation of hazardous waste materials was in accordance to CPCB Co-processing guidelines 2016 and 2017, and therefore, it would be the responsibility of the transporter to take waste by-products to its destination. The petitioner company or the petitioner himself would have no knowledge of any misdeed of the transporter. The liability would lie on the company who engages the transporter and it is the duty of the transporter to see that the said waste product reaches plant or to its destination."
The Court thus granted regular bail to the Petitioner, director of Chemie Organic Chemicals Private Limited ('COCPL'), for alleged commission of offences under Sections 284, 120-B, 34, 277, 336, 337, 342, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of IPC and Section 15 of Environment Protection Act.
The factual matrix of the case was that M/S Sangam ('Sangam') informed COCPL that it was engaged in the business of lifting co-process material on behalf of cement industries with a trans-boundary manifest process in accordance with Hazardous and other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 ('Rules').
On the basis of this representation by Sangam, COCPL dispatched the waste through Sangam from time to time. Sangam also informed that it had been delivering waste material to Dalmia Cement Company from various chemical industries at units in Odisha, Karnataka, Bihar as per CPCB co-processing guidelines of 2016 and 2017 Rules.
Subsequently, the Petitioners averred that on 23rd December 2021, the co-processing waste dispatch vide a tanker was disposed of in a creek. Consequently, an FIR was lodged and the Petitioner was arrested in February 2022.
The Petitioner vehemently contested that he had no knowledge about the waste material during the existence of the contract between Sangam and Dalmia. It was the responsibility of Dalmia to ensure that the material sent by the Petitioner company reached the right destination while Sangam was the authorised transporters. Further, the Petitioner had terminated all the contract agreements with Sangam after having knowledge of illegal activities. Therefore, the Petitioner was entitled to bail.
Per contra, the Respondent authorities claimed that the Petitioner had called the Deputy General Manager of Dalmia to inform that Sangam had earlier contracted the company for hazardous waste and there would be a police inquiry. A one-sided agreement was executed along with forged signatures of the witness to conceal the transportation of hazardous material. There were also attempts by the Petitioner to manipulate the investigation process by informing the police that there was no final agreement between the parties. It was also found that the manifest was uploaded on the Gujarat Pollution Control Board website but it did not contain details of the tanker and the driver and no reference of Sangam was made. The disposal of hazardous waste in the creek had injured two persons and hence, bail could not be granted.
Taking note of the CPCB co-processing guidelines of 2016 and 2017, the Court opined that it was the duty of the transporter to take waste by-products to the destination. To address the question of forgery, it was observed:
"For the non-bailable offence punishable under Sections 467 and 468 of IPC are concerned, it is not clear on record that which of the document would be a valuable security where there is any allegation of forgery. The agreement which is stated to be forged do have signature of Dalmia which was found in custody of the petitioner company. It therefore does not become clear as to how any such delivery of waste product was done for the purpose of cheating where there are contractual transaction between Dalmia and present petitioner company through Sangam."
Owing to these facts and circumstances, the Petitioner was released on bail on executing a personal bond of INR 15,000.
Case Title: Mayank Jayantbhai Shah S/O Jayant Manharlal Shah Versus State Of Gujarat
Case No.: R/CR.MA/5267/2022
Citation:
