NGT Delhi is equal with all other branches of NGT

NGT Delhi is equal to all other branches of NGT

First, read the complete topic on National Green Tribunal (NGT) through this link and then read this news.
Observing that all five zonal Benches of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) are equally powerful and that their orders would be applicable pan India, the Madras High Court has disapproved of a 2017 Central notification which terms the north zone Bench in Delhi as the principal Bench.
Though in the notification dated August 10, 2017 the north zone Bench in Delhi is called principal Bench, it is prima facie contrary to the NGT Act of 2010 as the latter does not speak about any principal Bench.
Vesting of power only with the Bench in Delhi is not contemplated anywhere in the statute even though power is actually concentrated in Delhi.
The orders were passed on a writ petition filed by an environmental activist K. Saravanan of Chennai against a decision taken by the south zone Bench of NGT on June 15 to transfer his case to the “principal” Bench in Delhi since the orders to be passed in it would have pan India effect.
Not in agreement with such a decision taken by the south zone Bench, the judges stayed the operation of the transfer order. “The decision taken by any Bench of NGT will have pan India effect and it cannot be said that only if the issue is decided by Delhi, it will have pan India effect,” the judges observed.
They pointed out that the country had been divided into five zones — North, West, Central, South and East — and one Bench of the NGT had been established for each of them, with territorial jurisdiction over specified States, only for the convenience of the litigants residing in those zones.
“The jurisdiction of every Bench has been distinctly given and it is only to enable the citizens to approach the forum constituted in their zone and not to make the citizens travel to Delhi spending huge amount of money which is not possible for every citizen on each and every issue,” the judges said.
They went on to add: “If such a procedure (of transferring cases to Delhi) is adopted, it would amount to denying access to justice as is being done in other matters.” Easy access to justice was the primary reason for establishing courts at the Taluk level and that was the reason why even High Court Benches were being created in different parts of a State, the judges pointed out.

Source: TH

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