As Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) soared to a season’s high of 364, and the contribution to the bad air from farm fires, especially in Punjab and Haryana inched up to the double digits, the Supreme Court on Wednesday independently found serious gaps in the implementation of laws to curb stubble fires, objected to the Union government’s move to render the Environment Protection Act,1986 “toothless” through a recent amendment replacing prosecution with penalty, and pulled up the states of Punjab and Haryana for not following a consistent approach when it came to prosecuting or penalising farmers burning stubble.
Upset over the fact that stubble fires continue unabated, the bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka reminded the two states and the Centre that every citizen has a right to live with dignity in a pollution-free environment and not providing the same is a blatant violation of the fundamental right to life guaranteed to them under Article 21 of the Constitution .
The bench, also comprising justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih, said, “Time has come to remind the government of India and state governments that there is a fundamental right vested in Article 21 of Constitution of India for citizens to live in a pollution-free environment. These are not matters only of implementing the existing laws but of blatant violation of fundamental rights enshrined under Article 21.”
Punjab reported 1,084 fresh farm fires till October 21 . The court noted that Punjab penalised 473 farmers only. Similarly, for Haryana, the bench observed that out of 419 fires identified from September till Monday, FIR was lodged only against 32 persons and penalties levied in 328 cases only.
The court found the action by the two states to be an “eye wash” and blamed them for lacking seriousness in implementing the laws. “Out of 1,084 FIRs you have recovered compensation from 473 only. You are sparing more than 600 persons. The signal that you are giving them is that if you commit breach, you will go scot-free,” it told Punjab.
Punjab informed that under Section 15 of CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) Act, it collected environmental compensation amount of over ₹11 lakh, and Haryana said it collected nearly ₹8 lakh. The court noted that the average compensation per person charged was less than ₹2,500.
“By taking nominal amount, you have given a licence for people to breach the law,” said the bench. It directed the Centre to reconsider the penalty to be levied.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh assisting the court as amicus curiae pointed out that if criminal prosecution has been replaced with penalty, the amount should be substantial.
The chief secretaries of the two states were present in court and fielded queries from the court on their failure to launch even a single criminal case under CAQM Act, 2021 for the past three years. Even the present FIRs, they admitted, were under the minor offence of disobeying the orders of public servants under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“It is difficult for you to take action against farmers. This is purely political. Nobody wants to take it seriously…Your submissions must inspire confidence of the court,” said the bench. The order further added, “Prima facie we find that the penal provisions are not being consistently applied. We find both states are ‘picking and choosing’ while collecting fines. It should not be that in some cases you impose cost and in some cases you register FIR. There should be consistency.”
Punjab said that Section 15 of Environment Protection Act was amended in April 2024 by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 that fixed a penalty ranging from ₹10,000 to a maximum of ₹15 lakh. Even this penalty could not be imposed as rules under the amended Act were yet to be framed by the Centre, the state pointed out.
Wondering why the Act has been rendered ineffective for nearly six months, the bench said, “The law enforcement authorities cannot impose cost under Section 15 in the absence of rules, making the Act toothless.”
Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the Centre assured the court that the rules will be in place in two weeks. She also appeared for CAQM and informed the court that the commission, for the first time, has exercised powers under Section 14 by issuing show cause notices to officials in both Punjab and Haryana, as farm fires continued unabated despite statutory directions given by the commission. The notices were issued to the additional chief secretary (agriculture) of the two states, Punjab secretary (environment), Haryana additional chief secretary (environment) and member secretaries of the pollution control boards of both states.
Not happy with this approach, the court asked Bhati why notice was issued when there is ample material to show violation. The bench remarked, “It seems you want to protect these officers. Your own orders were defied for over three years. When we pull you up, you issue notice. When there is persistent violation on their part, you still issue them notice. Unless you prosecute them straightaway, nothing will improve.”
ASG Bhati assured the court that action will be taken by the next hearing. “Tell your chairperson not to bail out these officers,” the bench said, posting the matter for hearing on November 4.
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