The Rules were published on June 1 in pursuant to the provisions of the Finance Act and DNA had reported on Tuesday how it took away the judiciary's powers in appointments to Tribunals.
The judiciary will no longer have an equal say in the appointment, selection and removal of the chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led government published the Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities Rules, earlier this month in which it has tweaked and diluted the norms for appointment and selection of chairpersons of various Tribunals, including the NGT.
The Rules were published on June 1 in pursuant to the provisions of the Finance Act and DNA had reported on Tuesday how it took away the judiciary's powers in appointments to Tribunals.
The Rules do not make it mandatory for the NGT chairperson to be a sitting judge of Supreme Court or Chief Justice of High Court, as was the stated criterion under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. In fact, the Rules say that even a person who has been a judicial member or expert member for three years is qualified to be the NGT's chairperson. Further, it states that a "person of ability, integrity and standing, and having special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than twenty five years in law including five years' practical experience in the field of environment and forests", can be the NGT chairperson.
As far as selection is concerned, the role of the executive has increased and the judiciary's has reduced. A search-cum-selection committee, comprising of at least four members, will have a sole member with a judicial background, which would be the Chief Justice of India or his nominee. The secretary, ministry of environment, forests and climate change, another secretary level officer, appointed by the Centre and two experts, nominated by Centre would form this committee.
As has been done in the appointment of the chairperson, the criteria for judicial members, too, has been diluted. Whereas a person of the stature of at least a judge of the High Court was required to be a judicial member, now, even additional secretaries from the department of legal affairs are eligible to become judicial members.
Even in matters of removal of chairpersons and judicial members, tweaking in the Rules allows bureaucrats in the central government to undertake a departmental inquiry against the chairperson and judicial members of NGT, on the basis of a complaint. As opposed to this, the NGT Act stated that the Central government could remove the NGT chairperson only in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
Environmental lawyers termed the Centre's Rules as unconstitutional and a dilution of the NGT, which was created to protect the environment, even against the Centre and central agencies.
"The entire aim of the Notification is to cripple the NGT and bring it under the control of the executive. The notification is unconstitutional as it is contrary to the separation of power between the judiciary and the executive. The predecessor of the NGT was the National Environment Appellate Authority and it was dysfunctional purely because of this reason. The same will be the fate of the NGT," said lawyer Ritwick Dutta.
Sanjay Parikh, senior advocate, Supreme Court said, "This is absolutely wrong. These changes should not be made through the Rules and rather, there should be separate amendments for them. The amendments cannot contradict the NGT Act. This amounts to the executive taking away powers of the judiciary," said Sanjay Parikh, senior advocate, Supreme Court
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