STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH versus CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT & ORS.

Citation: [2020] 12 S.C.R. 1139 · Decided: 28-08-2020 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: ARUN MISHRA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 3 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1139
STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
v.
CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT & ORS.
(Civil Appeal Nos. 8932-8933 of 2015)
AUGUST 28, 2020
[ARUN MISHRA AND INDIRA BANERJEE, JJ.]
National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 – ss. 2(1)(c), (m), 3, 14,
15, 19, 20, 22-24 – Blanket directions issued by National Green
Tribunal (NGT) that motor vehicles not displaying valid Pollution
Under Control (PUC) Certificate would suffer suspension/revocation
of Registration Certificate, and would also be debarred from being
supplied fuel – Review – Rejected – On appeal, held: Stoppage of
supply of fuel to vehicles not complying with the requirement to
have and/or display a valid PUC Certificate is not contemplated
either in the 1989 Rules or in the NGT Act – Tribunal had no power
to pass orders directing the State Government to issue orders/
instructions/directions to dealers, outlets and petrol pumps not to
supply fuel to vehicles without PUC Certificate – Further, Tribunal
also had no power to direct the State to deposit Rs.25 crores to
secure compliance with its order – Such an order should not have
been passed in review when the initial order did not contain any
such direction – Impugned orders set aside to the extent issuing
aforesaid directions to the State – However, State to strictly implement
compliance of rr.115, 116 and penalize all those contravening –
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 – rr.115,
116 –Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 – ss.2,
16, 17, 20, 39, 41, 52 – Environment Protection Act, 1986 – ss.3, 5,
7, 10, 11, 15, 17-19, 23, 24 – Environmental Law.
Allowing the appeals, the Court
HELD : 1.1 Rule 115 (7) of Central  Motor Vehicles Rules,
1989 provides that after the expiry of a period of one year from
the date on which the motor vehicle was first registered, every
such vehicle shall carry a valid “Pollution under control”
certificate issued by an agency authorized for this purpose by the
State Government. The validity of the certificate shall be for [six
[2020] 12 S.C.R. 1139
1139
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1140
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2020] 12 S.C.R.
months] and the certificate shall always be carried in the vehicle
and produced on demand by the officers referred to in sub-rule
(1) of Rule 116. Rule 116 and in particular sub-Rule (1) read with
sub-Rules 2 to 5 thereof empower an officer to direct the driver
or any other person in charge of a motor vehicle to submit the
vehicle for a test to measure the standards of emission in an
authorised testing station and produce a certificate. The driver
and/or the person in charge of the vehicle is obliged to comply
with such direction. The consequences of non-compliance of Rules
115(2) and (7) are prescribed in sub-Rules (4) to (9) of Rule 116
of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. [Paras 22, 24 and 25][1158-
D; 1160-D-E]
1.2 The Green Tribunal Act, 2010 has been enacted to
establish a National Green Tribunal for the effective and
expeditious disposal of cases relating, inter alia, to environmental
protection and matters connected therewith. Section 2(1) (c) of
the said Act defines environment to include water, air and land
and the inter-relationship, which exists among and between water,
air and land and human beings, other living creatures, plants,
micro-organism and property. Section 2(1) (m) defines “substantial
question relating to environment’. Section 15 clothes the National
Green Tribunal with power to pass orders of relief, compensation
and restitution. Section 23 enables the Tribunal to make such
order as to costs as it may consider necessary and Section 24
empowers the Tribunal to make an award for monetary
compensation or relief on the ground of damage to environment.
An award or order or decision of the Tribunal under the National
Green Tribunal Act is executable as a decree of the Civil Court,
by the Tribunal itself, for which purpose the Tribunal has all the
powers of a Civil Court. The Tribunal may also transmit any order
or award made by it to a Civil Court for execution. An appeal
from a decision of the Tribunal lies to the Court under Section 22
on one or more grounds specified in section 100 of the Code of
Civil Procedure and/or in other words on a substantial question
of law. This Court does not, therefore, deem it necessary to
examine the correctness of any factual findings in the judgments
and orders under appeal. The Tribunal constituted under the NGT
Act has jurisdiction under Section 14 of the said Act t

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.