GREEN JUSTICE
Activists Make A Case For A Special Bench For Environmental Issues Saying It Will Ensure Sensitivity And Specialisation ….Kartikeya I TNN
Mumbai: In 1996, the Supreme Court passed two landmark judgments that sought to put a dedicated judicial mechanism in place to deal with the large number of environmental issues that were being brought to the doorsteps of the judiciary. In what became famous as the Madras Tanneries Case, a three-judge bench of the SC asked the Madras high court to set up a special Green Bench to look specifically into cases related to environment. Such benches have since then been set up in various other high courts such as those of Madhya Pradesh, Calcutta and Punjab and Haryana.
In another case that dealt with the woes of people living around chemical plants, the SC said that states should work towards setting up environment courts that will specialise in cases that deal with environmental pollution and hazards. The idea behind the order was that over a period of time judges dealing with purely ecological matters will develop not only the specialisation needed to deal with such issues but also become more sensitive towards the threat posed to a clean environment in the country.
Environmental activists in the city are now wondering if it would be a good idea to establish a full-fledged Green Bench in the Bombay high court as well which recently saw the induction of eight new judges. While they all agreed that tremendous work has been done by two benches that hear a range of green cases filed in the court as PILs, they also argued that a special bench will act as a shot in the arm for those who have been battling rampant industrial growth taking place in the city at the cost of the environment.
A dedicated Green Bench would mean judges will become familiar with the problems peculiar to the city as they hear more and more such litigation, said Debi Goenka of BEAG. Many times we have seen that by the time the chief justice starts going into the nitty-gritties of a case he is elevated to the Supreme Court, he added. However, with a Green Bench, you will have judges who understand the geography and topography of the state as environmental problems are brought before them, Goenka said.
Samir Mehta, an activist, saw an advantage of a full-time Green Bench in the fact that it will help speed up the disposal of environmental cases. An exclusive court will be able to give more time to listen to these cases and thus they will be decided quickly, Mehta said.
However, advocate Gautam Patel, who has fought several environmental cases, felt that the present system was working well. The PILs that are heard are mostly to do with environmental matters and at present there are two benches in the high court to deal with them, Patel said. We also have to consider that there is such a severe shortage of judges that if an exclusive court for green matters is set up then other litigants will suffer, he added.
Patel added that most environmental cases were brought to the high court as writ petitions and the regular benches were dealing with matters as diverse as hazards posed by bio-medical wastes to those involving town planning. The problem arises when the governmental agencies that are meant to implement the court orders are lax in doing so and environment continues to suffer, Patel said.
From the Supreme Court
From the Supreme Court
We, therefore, request the Chief Justice of the Madras high court to constitute a special bench Green bench to deal with this case and other environmental matters. We make it clear that it would be open to the Bench to pass any appropriate order/orders keeping in view the directions issued by us. We may mention that Green Benches are already functioning in Calcutta, Madhya Pradesh and some other HCs.
Vellore Citizens WELFARE FORUM VS UNION OF INDIA, 1996