NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to all the state governments on a contempt petition for alleged disobedience of its earlier direction seeking framing of appropriate rules for appointment of qualified members to respective State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).
A bench comprising justices Vineet Saran and S R Bhatt issued notices to Chief Secretaries of all states for alleged wilful disobedience in complying with its directive passed on September 22, 2017, in the case.
The court passed the order on a contempt petition filed by Amitabh Srivastava, an advocate, alleging that the direction passed by the Supreme Court has not been complied with by the states".
In its 2017 judgment, the Supreme Court had recorded its anguish and pain with regard to the appointment of "unqualified members" to the State Pollution Control Boards.
It had directed the states "to frame appropriate guidelines or recruitment rules within six months, considering the institutional requirements of the SPCBs and the law laid down by statute, by this court and as per the reports of various committees and authorities and ensure that suitable professionals and experts are appointed to the SPCBs.
It had said that any damage to the environment could be permanent and irreversible or at least long-lasting.
The court, in its order passed on Thursday, also granted liberty to advocates Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi and Ashima Mandla, the counsel for the petitioner, to serve notice upon standing counsels of all states through e-mail.