In Brief
The Supreme Court held that appeals against original closure orders by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) against the copper smelter operator Sterlite Industries cannot be directly filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), as this would constitute an impermissible leapfrog appeal. The Court ruled that appeal is a creature of statute—appellants must first appeal to the statutory appellate authority under the Air and Water Acts, and only then to the NGT. Directions under Section 31A of the Air Act are not appealable to the NGT (unlike under the Water Act), and orders under Section 18 of the Water Act by the State Government are not appealable to any tribunal but only challengeable via writ petitions. The doctrine of necessity cannot justify bypassing statutory appellate procedures. The NGT's jurisdiction is strictly limited to second appeals from appellate authorities' decisions, not original orders.
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