Case: TN Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union Of India & Ors.
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), established under the Environment Protection Act, is responsible for ensuring compliance with judicial orders related to ecological issues and advising State and Central governments on better implementation of such orders.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Viswanathan emphasized that since the CEC is a legally recognized body constituted by the Court's order, withholding files from it undermines the Court's authority.
"The CEC, originally constituted under the order of this Court, has now received a statutory recognition vide notification dated 5th September, 2023. The said statutory status was also granted in pursuance to the directions issued by this Court. The CEC is, therefore, discharging its duties in order to assist the Court in hearing the matters assigned to the Bench hearing TN Godavarman Thirumulpad matter. Every authority is, therefore, bound to assist the CEC when the CEC conducts an enquiry. An attempt to withhold an important file, in our view, undermines the authority of this Court. It prevents the CEC in discharging its duties of assisting the Court," the Court said.
In April this year, the Supreme Court directed the Kerala government to file an affidavit specifying the exact area of the Cardamom Hill Reserve in Munnar.
However, on July 21, Senior Advocate PV Dinesh, representing the Kerala government, informed the Court that due to elections and the extensive records to review, the State was unable to comply and requested an additional four months to complete the task.
The Court, however, was not inclined to grant this extension.
The Court also noted that Land Revenue Commissioner Dr. A Kowsigan and Additional Secretary TR Jayapal had communicated to the CEC that the State Government would be unable to provide a requested file on the same issue.
Taking a serious view of this, the Court ordered the two officials to personally appear before the Court on August 21 to explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against them.
This order was issued in response to pleas where the CEC had been updating the Bench on measures taken to remove encroachments, implement working plans, compensatory afforestation, plantation, and other conservation efforts related to forest resources protection in the country.
Apart from the Kerala case, the Court noted that there are two Benches handling the issue of land allotment in the protected area of the Delhi Ridge.
To avoid conflicting orders, the Court directed the Registry to place all Delhi Ridge related matters before the Chief Justice of India for assignment to a single bench.
The Court also granted the High Powered Technical Committee, established under previous Court orders, six months to identify areas outside the Delhi Ridge with similar morphological features to the notified ridge area.
The matter will be revisited on August 21.
Senior Advocate PV Dinesh and advocate Nishe Rajan Shonker appeared for the State.
Senior Advocate Raghenth Basant and advocate A Karthik represented the applicant One Earth One Life.
Advocate K Parameshwar served as Amicus Curiae.
TAGS: Supreme Court Munnar Case Kerala Contempt Statutory Status Affidavit
