Bathinda: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday stayed proceedings related to all 17 notices issued by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on May 27 to the Trident Group. Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta, who recently shifted from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), serves as chairman emeritus of the textile group.
Court's Observations and Order
A division bench comprising Justice Sandeep Moudgil and Justice Rupinderjit Chahal stayed the proceedings linked to notices issued for alleged violations of air and water pollution norms. The court fixed July 10 as the next date of hearing. Earlier, on May 8, the High Court had noted that the PPCB failed to demonstrate any emergent situation where a stream, well, land, or environment was being polluted by the unit. It had stated that coercive steps should only be taken after affording a "reasonable opportunity" of 30 days to the petitioner company for rectifying minor deficiencies.
PPCB's Actions and Company's Response
On May 27, the PPCB issued 17 show-cause notices to the Trident Group, directing its representatives to appear before the board's chairperson on June 30 with their replies. A prior notice was issued on April 24, followed by an inspection at the group's unit in Dhaula village, Barnala, on April 30. In its plea, the Trident Group claimed that the PPCB's action was "mala fide," motivated by Rajinder Gupta's political shift from AAP to BJP. The company approached the court again after receiving the May 27 notices, leading to Wednesday's hearing.
Legal Arguments
The group's counsel, Viraj Gandhi, termed the PPCB's action "predetermined," alleging that the board pre-judged the company as guilty and did not wait for the 30-day period or the pronouncement of the previous order on May 8. "We reiterated that it is a politically motivated case, and the notices were intended to cause losses to the industry without specifying serious violations caused by it," Gandhi stated.
PPCB's Stance
When contacted, PPCB's Barnala executive engineer, Surinderjit Singh, confirmed the issuance of notices but declined to elaborate on the reasons behind them.
