The Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned the Chief Secretaries of the Punjab and Haryana governments to explain why action has not been taken against farmers involved in stubble burning.

Expressing strong disapproval of the lack of proper legal action against those involved in stubble burning, a bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Augustine George Masih slammed both state governments, asking, “Why are the states shying from prosecuting people for stubble burning and allowing them to escape with nominal fines.”

Noting that the Haryana government has been imposing only nominal fines on those engaged in stubble burning, the court said, “You are just taking nominal fines. The ISRO is providing the locations of the fires, yet you claim you did not find anything. There are 191 cases of breaches, but only nominal fines have been imposed. This is an absolute defiance of the directions issued by the Commission under Section 12 of the Commission of Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021.”

Perusing the affidavit submitted by the Chief Secretary of Haryana, the bench strongly observed, “This is not a political matter. If the Chief Secretary is acting at somebody’s behest, we will issue summons against them as well. Next Wednesday, we will physically call the Chief Secretary to explain everything. Nothing has been done, and the same applies to Punjab. The attitude is one of complete defiance.”

The bench was equally stern with the Punjab government, stating that paddy straw burning, or stubble burning, continues unabated, and the state appears unwilling to take action under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Stating that the “air is getting polluted”, the bench directed the Chief Secretary of the Punjab government to appear in person on Wednesday, October 23. The bench noted, “The order passed by the Commission for Air Quality Management is three years old. We direct the Chief Secretary of Punjab to be physically present…”

The top court’s order directing the Chief Secretaries of the Punjab and Haryana governments to appear was issued during the hearing of a case concerning the rising air pollution in the national capital.