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The Supreme Court on Tuesday while hearing a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the National Green Tribunal Act said, "We don't want to use the word but the legislature has been dumb in this regard."

A bench of Justice KM Joseph and Justice Hrishikesh Roy noted that every case from the National Green Tribunal ultimately ends up before the top court.

However, Attorney General KK Venugopal objected stating that he doesn't think that it is in the domain of the apex court to decide which cases NGT should hear.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association challenging Section 3 of the NGT Act regarding the establishment of the tribunal.

Advocate Siddharth Gupta submitted before the bench that the appeal of the NGT order lies directly before the Supreme Court, however, the appellate authority should be the High Court.

Gupta, referring to the judgment in the case of Anita Kushwaha V. Pushap Sudan, said, "Access to justice is a facet of the fundamental right. We are talking about environmental legislation. Today, I am allowed to appear via video conference but if it was physical, I could not have appeared."

"The complainant often may not be able to take advantage of an appeal before the Supreme Court," Gupta added.

Further, the bench enquired from Venugopal about the feasibility of establishing a NGT in every State. To which, Venugopal stated that he'll seek instructions on the issue.

In addition to this, Venugopal stated that tribunals are specialized courts and they may not be considered any inferior to the High Courts. The bench reserved its judgment in the matter after hearing the parties in length.

Case Title: Madhya Pradesh High Court Bae Association Vs. Union of India & Ors.