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Synopsis

On Thursday, the Bombay High Court quashed the closure order passed by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) which had directed a sugar factory owned by Baramati Agro Ltd, a company under the control of NCP MLA Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar.

The division bench of the high court, consisting of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Manjusha Deshpande, has remanded the matter to the MPCB for fresh consideration.

The high court observed that the order passed by the MPCB to close the factory had been done hastily, without due consideration of the company's response, enforcement policies, and the principle of proportionality.

The company had approached the high court after it received the closure notice on September 28, 2023, at 2 AM. The MPCB had instructed the company to shut down the factory within 72 hours of issuing the notice.

The petition contended that the unit had been in existence since 2007-2008, and there had not been a single instance of environmental violation.

The petitioner also submitted that the order was passed by the MPCB owing to political influence.

“The Impugned Order has been passed owing to political influence and considering the present political situation to pressurize the director of the Petitioner Le. Mr. Rohit Pawar who is also a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra,” the plea states. 

Senior Advocate JP Sen, appearing for the petitioner, contended that the direction to close down the petitioner's unit/factory is a drastic step that will not only affect the functioning of the unit but also the employees working there.

The Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board, in response to the plea filed by the company associated with NCP MLA Rohit Pawar challenging the factory's closure, informed the Bombay High Court that significant environmental clearance violations were made by the company.

"...it was noticed that the Petitioner has committed serious violations of environmental protection norms contained in Environmental Clearance and Consent to Operate and hence approval was obtained from the competent Authority of the Board and accordingly, the Order dated 27 September 2023 was issued directing the Petitioner to close down the industry within 72 hours," the reply reads.

The MPCB argued that other factories under the control of the same company had committed much more severe violations.

However, these factories were not subject to serious actions but were instead warned and granted time to rectify their non-compliance with Environmental Clearance and Consent to Operate conditions.

The high court had earlier extended interim relief to the company on 30th September and 6th October. After hearing both the parties the bench today quashed the closure order and directed the MPCB to consider the matter afresh.  

Case title: Baramati Agro Ltd. vs MPCB