Talli Gram Panchayat vs Union of India and Others

Bench: 3 — D.Y. Chandrachud

In Brief

A Gram Panchayat challenged an environmental clearance for limestone mining granted by the Ministry of Environment. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) dismissed the panchayat's delay condonation application through a single-member bench in January 2018. The Supreme Court held that the single-member bench lacked jurisdiction because it violated the NGT Act's requirement for equal numbers of judicial and expert members. The Attorney General had assured the Court on 11 January 2018 that the rule permitting single-member benches would be rectified, creating an implicit interdict on its use. The Court set aside the NGT's dismissal order and remitted the environmental clearance appeal for fresh hearing on the merits.

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Administrative Law Environmental Law Procedural Justice Tribunal Jurisdiction Mining and Environment Statutory Interpretation

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