D. Swamy vs Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and Ors.
Background
A Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility was set up by a private operator (Respondent No. 3) in Mysore district after obtaining "consent to establish/operate" from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) under the Water and Air Pollution Control Acts, but reportedly without prior environmental clearance under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. The appellant, D. Swamy, sought closure of the facility before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the ground that it was operating without valid environmental clearance. The NGT dismissed his application, and Swamy appealed to the Supreme Court under Section 22 of the National Green Tribunal Act.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court upheld the NGT's decision, relying on its own earlier precedents in Electrosteel Steels Ltd. and Pahwa Plastics Pvt. Ltd. The Court held that the Environment (Protection) Act does not prohibit ex post facto (after-the-fact) environmental clearance in appropriate cases, and that such clearance should not be refused "with pedantic rigidity" where the facility otherwise complies with pollution norms and closing it would harm public interest, while also cautioning that ex post facto clearance should not be granted "routinely" or "for the asking," and should remain the exception rather than the rule. Since the bio-medical waste facility was operating with valid consent from KSPCB and served the important public function of preventing environmental pollution from medical waste, the Court held it should not be shut down merely for lacking prior environmental clearance. The Court also noted the appeal was barred by delay and raised no substantial question of law. The appeal was dismissed.
Lesson Learnt
Lacking prior environmental clearance does not automatically mean a facility must be shut down. Courts will weigh the public interest served by the facility (especially essential services like bio-medical waste disposal) against strict procedural compliance, though after-the-fact clearance remains an exception granted only in genuinely deserving cases, not a routine escape hatch for polluting industries.