NGT can act suo motu in environmental matters, can't be left toothless: Supreme Court

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, argued that NGT does not have the power to take cognisance of a matter on its own

The Supreme Court on Thursday declared that National Green Tribunal has been vested with the power to take suo motu cognisance on issues pertaining to the environment, saying the role of the watchdog can't remain only ornamental due to procedural nitpicking and hairsplitting.

"It is vital for the wellbeing of the nation and its people, to have a flexible mechanism to address all issues pertaining to environmental damage and resultant climate change so that we can leave behind a better environmental legacy, for our children, and the generations thereafter," a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Hrishikesh Roy, and C T Ravikumar said.

Justice Roy, who authored the 77-page judgement on the issue of NGT's jurisdiction arising out of a civil appeal filed by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, said the NGT Act gives much leeway to the tribunal to go beyond a mere adjudicatory role and act as a sui generis institution with the capacity to provide redressal for environmental exigencies.

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"Institutions which are often addressing urgent concerns gain little from procedural nitpicking, which are unwarranted in the face of both the statutory spirit and the evolving nature of environmental degradation. Not merely should a procedure exist but it must be meaningfully effective to address such concerns," the bench said.

Referring to a play 'Waiting for Godot' written by Samuel Beckett, Justice Roy said the National Green Tribunal must act, if the exigencies so demand, without indefinitely waiting for the metaphorical 'Godot' to knock on its portal.

The court did not agree to contention by a battery of senior advocates that the NGT was a statutory body and could not act suo motu like a constitutional court, saying the tribunal with the distinct role envisaged for it, can hardly afford to remain a mute spectator when no-one knocks on its door.

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"The forum itself has correctly identified the need for collective stratagem for addressing environmental concerns. Such a society centric approach must be allowed to work within the established safety valves of the principles of natural justice and appeal to the Supreme Court. The hands-off mode for the NGT, when faced with exigencies requiring immediate and effective response, would debilitate the forum from discharging its responsibility and this must be ruled out in the interest of justice," it said.

Maintaining that the role of such an institution cannot be mechanical or ornamental or a mute spectator, the bench said, "We must therefore adopt an interpretation which sustains the spirit of public good and not render the environmental watchdog of our country toothless and ineffective."

The court rejected a contention by the Union government that the NGT does not have power to take cognisance of a matter on its own on the basis of news reports but can act on a letter sent to it.

"It would be procedural hairsplitting to argue that the NGT could act upon a letter being written to it, but learning about an environmental exigency through any other means cannot trigger the NGT into action. To endorse such an approach would surely be rendering the forum procedurally shackled or incapacitated," the bench said.

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