DURGA PASWAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Public Interest Litigation has been filed inter alia contending that Respondent No. 10 has established an Industrial Unit in the district of Madhubani. Various statutory provisions under the Pollution Control Act are being violated and, therefore, environmental issues have arisen and contending violation of the Pollution Control Laws and threat to the environment at large this writ petition has been filed in public interest under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(2.) After coming into force of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 and the provisions of Section 14 therein, the jurisdiction of this Court to deal with environmental matters stands taken away and vested in the Green Tribunal and thereafter against the order passed by the Tribunal, the matters have to be agitated before the Supreme Court.

(3.) However, normally this Court even though would not have exercised jurisdiction in such cases, however, as a Tribunal has not been constituted in the State of Bihar, in exceptional circumstances, this Court has exercised its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution and invoked its writ jurisdiction only because a Tribunal is not functional in the State of Bihar. However, in this case, we find that an exception is not made out, for the simple reason that the matter was agitated before the National Green Tribunal in Kolkata. Various orders were passed and now it is stated that the Pollution Control Board is not taking action as was directed by the Green Tribunal and pointing out certain violation, the writ petition has been filed.