The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging a notification issued by the Union of India, granting exemptions from environmental clearance for dredging and desilting of dams, reservoirs, weirs, barrages, rivers, and canals.
The petitioner, Gaurav Partap Singh Pathania, had argued that the notification dated January 15, 2016, was in contravention of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the rules framed thereunder.
However, the High Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, held that the subject matter of the PIL relates to the interpretation of environmental laws and disputes arising therefrom, which exclusively fall within the domain of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The court relied on the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, which establishes the NGT as a specialized body to adjudicate environmental issues.¹
The court noted that while the power of judicial review is not ousted even when the NGT is functional, as held by the Apex Court in L Chandra Kumar v. UOI (1997) 3 SCC 261, propriety demands that when an expert body like the NGT is functional, the court should not entertain environmental issues that exclusively lie within the NGT’s domain.
In view of the above, the High Court declined to interfere with the notification on merits and relegated the petitioner to avail his remedy before the NGT.
Accordingly, the petition was dismissed.