The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Haryana government over its failure to comply with earlier orders concerning stubble burning, warning that if there is continued non-compliance, contempt proceedings will be initiated against the state’s Chief Secretary.
A bench led by Justice Abhay Oka expressed displeasure over Haryana’s inaction on the directives issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The court specifically criticised the state for its handling of stubble burning incidents, asking why individuals responsible for stubble burning were not being prosecuted and allowed to get away with nominal fines.
“Why has there been no prosecution for violations of the orders? This is not a political issue—it is about the implementation of statutory directions by the Commission, and no political considerations will apply here.
“ISRO tells you the locations of the fires, and you simply say the fire locations were not found. Nobody is being prosecuted, nobody is being held accountable. They are just paying nominal fines. What is going on here?” he remarked, expressing frustration at the state’s handling of the issue.
Asking why the committees required have not been constituted, the top court warned that it will issue summons to people on whose behest the chief secretary is acting at.
“If the Chief Secretary is acting at the behest of someone else, tell us—we will issue a summons to them as well. What is the hesitation in prosecuting people? And why haven’t the committees, which are required to be constituted, been formed?” the bench added.
The Court issued a directive to the Haryana government, mandating it to take immediate action against the officials responsible for non-compliance under Section 14 of the commission’s orders.
The bench noted that despite the commission’s directions from June 10, 2021, no penal action had been taken in any of the 191 cases of stubble burning reported in the state.
“The order has been in force for more than three years, yet we find that the penal action as contemplated by Clause 14 of the direction has not been implemented even in a single case. Only nominal fines have been recovered, and the necessary machinery for enforcement has not been set up,” the order stated.
The bench also directed the Chief Secretary of Haryana to be personally present in court for the next hearing, scheduled for next Wednesday. The Court instructed the CAQM to provide a statement on the actions taken against state officials by then.
