Supreme Court stays NGT direction calling for action against company under PMLA

The Supreme Court recently expressed its prima facie disapproval of a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order issuing directions to initiate action against a company under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) [Waris Chemicals Private Limited v. Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board]. .A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan stayed the NGT's directions against a company called Waris Chemicals for dumping hazardous waste in breach of environmental regulations. The Tribunal had also imposed a fine of more than ₹25 crore on the company.The Court was of the view that the NGT lacked authority to issue such a directive."Prima facie, we are of the view that the National Green Tribunal had no jurisdiction to issue a direction to initiate action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 against the appellant. Therefore, we stay the said direction recorded in paragraph 230 of the impugned order. We also stay clause (I) of paragraph 232 of the impugned order," the Court observed..In this case, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Kanpur Dehat (UPPCB) imposed a fine of over ₹46 crore on the appellant firm for allegedly dumping hazardous waste containing Chromium in a hamlet.The order was then appealed before NGT, which noted that the PMLA includes offences under environmental norms by way of Section 30 of the PMLA (Amendment) Act, 2012. These offences include those under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air Act, 1981. Accordingly, the NGT had found that the method of producing materials resulted in hazardous discharge and a breach of scheduled crimes under Section 3 PMLA. The Tribunal reasoned that the appellant's income earnings comprised the proceeds of environmental crimes as defined in Schedule A of PMLA, and so the appellant was liable for action under PMLA.Challenging the said decision, the appellant moved the apex court..Advocate Ninad Laud, briefed by Advocate-on-Record Subhro Prokas Mukherjee and Advocates Ashok Kumar Tripathi, Rashika Narain, Zubin Dash, Gajendra Singh Negi, Pradyumna Tyagi, Umesh Kumar Shukla and Avinash Shukla, appeared for the appellant before the top court..[Read Order]