Source: Allahabad High Court

Why in News?

A bench of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Ashutosh Srivastava, Allahabad High Court reiterated that the power of judicial review under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India is not ousted by Section 22 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (NGT).

• The HC gave the observation in the matter of M/s Hotel the Grand Tulsi and 15 Others v. State of U.P. And & others.

Background

• An order of NGT was challenged before the court under Article 226.
• It was primarily challenged on the ground that the NGT has passed the order without any notice or opportunity of hearing being provided to the petitioners.
• The petitioners stated that the order and the demand notices issued are in complete violation of the principles of natural justice and are liable to be set aside.
• The counsel for the respondent contended that petitioners are essentially aggrieved by the order of the NGT which is appealable under Section 22 of the NGT Act.
  • And hence, the writ petition are not liable to be entertained in the wake of availability of an effective alternative remedy to the petitioners.

Court’s Observation

The HC observed that “While a HC would normally not exercise its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution if an effective and efficacious alternate remedy is available, the existence of an alternate remedy does not by itself bar the High Court from exercising the jurisdiction in certain contingencies”.

Writ Jurisdiction of High Court

• Under Article 226:
  • Clause 1 of this article confers powers in the HC to issue orders or writs including habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto, and certiorari, to any person or any government for the enforcement of fundamental rights and for other purposes.
  • This power may be exercised by the HC within whose jurisdiction the cause of action occurred.
• Under Article 227:
  • Clause 1 of this article states that every HC shall have superintendence over all courts and tribunals throughout the territories interrelation to which it exercises jurisdiction.

National Green Tribunal (NGT)

• NGT was established under the NGT Act, 2010.
• It was established for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
• Its power includes enforcement of legal rights related to the environment, providing relief, compensation and other incidental matters.
• Decisions of the NGT are binding. It has the power to review its own decisions which can later be challenged before the SC within 90 days.
• It is not bound by the procedure enshrined in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), it follows the principles of natural justice.
• After Australia and New Zealand, India became the 3rd country in the world to set up a specialized environmental tribunal.

Landmark Cases

The following landmark judgments related to the power of judicial review were cited in this case:

• L Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997):
  • The power of judicial review over legislative action vested in the HC under Articles 226 and in SC under Article 32 of the Constitution is an integral and essential feature of the Constitution, constituting part of its basic structure.
  • Ordinarily, therefore, the power of High Courts and the Supreme Court to test the constitutional validity of legislations can never be ousted or excluded.
• Madhya Pradesh High Court Advocates Bar Association and another v. Union of India & another (2022):
  • The power of judicial review of the HC under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India is not ousted by Section 22 of the NGT Act and remains unaffected.