January 31, 2018

"If there's nobody at the NGT to hear cases, then can they resort to illegality? If NGT is not functional, send it back to High Courts. Scrap this tribunal," Senior Adv. Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Bar body said.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court directed that no single judge bench be constituted to hear & decide matters in the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

A bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra is hearing a petition filed by the NGT Bar Association challenging the constitutional validity of the National Green Tribunal (Practices and Procedures) Amendment Rules, 2017 that allows even a single member bench to perform the judicial functions.

“Let us tell you very candidly. We can't allow single judge benches (at NGT),” the bench, also comprising Justice A.M. Khanwilkar & Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, said.

The bench asked Attorney General K.K. Venugopal to advise the NGT’s Acting Chairperson against setting up of a single judge bench, either at the head branch or the zonal branches of the green tribunal.

When Venugopal submitted that there were large no. of vacancies in the NGT, the Apex court said even in that condition, single-member bench can't be allowed to discharge the judicial function.

Sr. Adv. Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Bar body, said that expert members with no knowledge of law are deciding cases. “If there's nobody at the NGT to hear cases, then can they resort to illegality? If NGT isn't functional, send it back to High Courts. Scrap this tribunal”, he said.

Rohatgi said that there were only 6 out of 40 members at the NGT & the govt. should've taken steps to fill up the vacancies.

The SC, which posted the matter for hearing on 12th March, asked Venugopal to advise the NGT Acting Chairperson not to set up a single member bench. It said that the NGT benches should consist 1 technical member & 1 judicial member each.

The functioning of the green panel, which's being headed by Acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi after Justice Swatanter Kumar demitted office on 19th December last year, has been hampered at its head & zonal benches due to non-appointment to the posts which fell vacant in the recent past.

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