Supreme Court Closes 2021 Suo Motu Case On River Pollution, Revives NGT Proceedings

The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed suo motu proceedings initiated in January 2021 on the issue of polluted rivers, with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant observing that little progress had been made since the Court took cognizance of the matter and that the responsibility should primarily rest with the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Closing the proceedings, the bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that the matter relating to river pollution should be pursued before the NGT and that parallel proceedings before multiple forums affected continuity and uniformity of directions.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice candidly remarked on the lack of progress in the case. “In 2021 after we took suo motu, this case did not proceed,” he observed.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi also noted that the NGT had been “embarrassed” by the pendency of the proceedings, to which the Chief Justice responded that the Court did not wish to say much in open court but acknowledged that the tribunal had not heard the matter due to the pendency of the suo motu case in the Supreme Court, though nothing much happened in the suo motu case. The Chief Justice added that the tribunal had erred in closing the original proceedings in 2021 in haste and said the issue required sustained monitoring rather than one-time adjudication.

The suo motu case had originated from concerns about rising pollution levels in the Yamuna river. The Court had taken cognizance of the issue and expanded the scope to include pollution caused by untreated sewage discharge into rivers across multiple States.

In the order passed today, the Court observed that the right to live in hygienic conditions with human dignity and a clean environment forms part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

It also noted that under the statutory framework relating to water pollution, the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards are obligated to ensure that untreated sewage is not discharged into rivers.

The Bench emphasised that the NGT is empowered to perform judicial and quasi-judicial functions in environmental matters and should ensure continuous monitoring of compliance.

The Court observed that the responsibility of the tribunal does not end with issuing directions and that it must ensure periodic status reports and implementation of orders by governments and other stakeholders.

Referring to the pendency of the proceedings, the Chief Justice said that “much water has flown” during the period and that in the absence of updated information, the Court could not assess whether conditions had improved.

The Bench also noted that instead of initiating suo motu proceedings, the Supreme Court could have directed the NGT to ensure compliance with environmental norms.

“Multiple and overlapping proceedings affect continuity and uniformity of directions,” the Court observed.

Holding that the NGT remained the appropriate forum for monitoring river pollution issues, the Court ordered closure of the suo motu proceedings while permitting revival of proceedings before the tribunal.

"Is it possible for this court to look at all polluted rivers? We can look at it one by one. We also keep entertaining so many matters and issue directions. .. we also have to see that we entertain matters together. Why to have a multiplicity of issues like this?" CJI remarked.

Case : IN RE REMEDIATION OF POLLUTED RIVERS | SMW(C) No. 1/2021