New Delhi, May 18
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the validity of Section 3 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 that empowers the Central Government to establish the NGT.
A Bench led by Justice KM Joseph said it was not a case of excessive delegation of power to the Central Government. “The National Green Tribunal under Section 14 & 22 of the NGT Act does not oust the High Court’s jurisdiction under Article 226 & 227 as the same is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution,” said the Bench which also included Justice Hrishikesh Roy.
It rejected the plea to transfer the seat of the NGT’s Madhya Pradesh Bench from Bhopal to Jabalpur, saying benches were created as per exigencies.
The remedy of direct appeal to the Supreme Court under Section 22 of the NGT Act is intra vires the Constitution of India.
The verdict came on a petition filed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association challenging Section 3 of the NGT Act regarding establishment of the tribunal.
The petitioner had contended that the provision gave the Centre excessive, unchecked powers to notify NGT seats/benches without sufficient consultations with Chief Justices of High Courts, the Union Cabinet or the President, as is the constitutional norm for other such decisions related to the judiciary.
Attorney General KK Venugopal had submitted that the NGT was created on the recommendations of the 186th Law Commission Report, which mentioned the aspect about direct appeals to the top court. The remedy to High Courts remained available and the Sections in this regard were thus not in violation of the basic structure of the Constitution.
