HC reserves order on NGT’s establishment and jurisdiction

Delhi high court on Friday reserved its order on a plea challenging the establishment and jurisdiction of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) as well as the rules for appointment of its Chairperson, judicial and expert members.

A Bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said it will pass an appropriate order, considering all the aspects raised in the petition which sought to declare NGT as illegal, invalid and ultra vires of the Constitution.

The court, however, during the hearing observed that there was no public interest involved in the plea.

Central government counsel Anurag Ahluwalia, appearing for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, contended that there was no cause of action to challenge NGT Act’s provisions as well as the rules of appointment.

The court was hearing a plea filed by an advocate Ravinder Kumar, who challenged the constitutional validity of the provisions of the NGT Act 2010 which relate to the establishment and composition of the Tribunal and qualifications required for appointing the Chairman and judicial and experts members.

He sought to declare these sections as illegal, invalid and unconstitutional. The plea also alleged that the fixation of the terms of office of the Chairman and Judicial Members smacked of political intervention “statutorily incorporated in the NGT Act to accommodate <g data-gr-id="20">post retirement</g>, re-employment extension and benefits to judges of the Supreme Court, High Court and bureaucracy.”