Noticing procedural lapses by the officials of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board in initiating prosecution for violation of environmental laws, the High Court of Karnataka has directed the board’s chairperson to educate officials on these laws by taking the help of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru.
Also, the court directed the board to to initiate action as per that law against a Deputy Environmental Officer (DEO) who was responsible for filing ‘defective complaint’ before the judicial magistrate against a stone crushing unit operator without following the mandatory provision in the law.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order while quashing the criminal proceeding initiated in 2015 against B.V. Byregowda, proprietor of a stone crushing unit for violating certain provisions of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the cognisance of offences taken by a judicial magistrate, Bengaluru Rural district.
The court found that the board in 2007 had delegated the power of filling cases under the provisions of the Air Act and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, to the DEOs and Assistant Environmental Officers with a specific condition that cases have to be filed ‘after getting approval from the Chairperson.’
And this condition of ‘getting approval from the Chairperson’ is not a mere administrative formality but a statutory ‘condition precedent’ imposed as per the Section 15 Air Act, which allows imposing condition while delegating powers of the board to its officials.
However, the court found that in the case the DFO had failed to take the approval of the Chairperson for prosecuting the petitioner, and the judicial magistrate too had not applied mind before taking cognisance of offences.
Observing that the board should take steps to ensure that cases are not quashed for want of following of procedure by its officials, the court directed the board’s chairperson to submit the details of topics to be covered and materials to be provided to the officials while conducting workshops to educate and train them in environmental laws.
