Supreme Court deprecates ex parte orders by NGT; says it must tread carefully

New Delhi: The practice of passing ex parte orders and the imposition of damages amounting to crores of rupees by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has irked the Supreme Court.

A Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar said that the green tribunal must tread carefully in its zealous quest for justice.

It added that the practice of ex parte orders and the imposition of damages amounting to crores of rupees have proven to be a counterproductive force in the broader mission of environmental protection.

The NGT’s recurrent engagement in unilateral decision-making, provisioning ex post facto review hearing and routinely dismissing it, has regrettably become a norm, the Bench pointed out.

It said, “It is imperative for the NGT to infuse a renewed sense of procedural integrity, ensuring that its actions resonate with a harmonious balance between justice and due process. Only then can it reclaim its standing as a beacon of environmental protection, where well-intentioned endeavours are not simply washed away.”

The apex court was hearing appeals arising out of two decisions passed by the tribunal where the appellants were ordered to pay compensation in an ex parte order in suo motu proceedings and secondly, when a review petition was filed by one of the appellants, the same was dismissed by the NGT.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court set aside the impugned decisions and remanded the matter back to the Tribunal with a direction to issue notice to all the affected parties, hear them and pass appropriate orders.

“It appears that the appellants did not have a full opportunity to contest the matter and place all their defences before the Tribunal…We have no other alternative except to set aside the orders dated 31.08.2021 and 26.11.2021 and remand the matter back to the Tribunal.

“The Tribunal issue notices to all the necessary parties, hear them in detail, and pass appropriate orders,” it said.

The top court clarified that its order did not deal with the merits of the matter, adding that the actions of those guilty of statutory and environmental violation will have to be subject to strict scrutiny and legal consequence.