NGT not required to apply strict yardsticks of Code of Civil Procedure: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently expressed displeasure on the approach of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in summarily dismissing an application without holding any inquiry[Nabendu Kumar Bandopadhyay v. Additional Chief Secretary and Others]..A Division Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan was of the view that when a citizen approaches the NGT with a grievance, a different approach by the NGT is contemplated and it is not required to strictly apply the yardsticks provided under the Code of Civil Procedure of 1908 (CPC)."It is not supposed to apply the strict yardsticks which are applied by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 Court to the pleadings of the parties. In any case, without holding any inquiry, only by recording a prima facie finding that no case for interference has been made out, the NGT has summarily dismissed the Original Application filed by the appellant," the Court said..In the instant case, the appellant had preferred an application before the NGT raising grievance over land reclamation by filling up a water body . Along with the application, certain photographs of the water body were also placed on record by the appellant.However, without conducting any enquiry into the complaint, the NGT summarily dismissed the complaint by basing its findings on the photographs. It observed that there existed no water body as per the photographs placed before it.The Supreme Court said that if the water body had already been filled in, the photographs will not contain the water body. "If a water body is already filled in, obviously from the photographs, water cannot be seen," the Court said..Accordingly, the Court was of the view that the NGT had not done its duty which it was supposed to do in terms of law. Therefore, it remitted the case back to the NGT for holding a fresh inquiry in accordance with law on the application filed by the appellant.However, the Court also clarified that its order is only with regard to remand to the NGT and should not be considered or relied upon by NGT as findings of the Court..[Read Order]