This page explains filing and defending a case in the national green tribunal in plain terms: the law, the forum, the documents and the usual steps. Legals365 is the legal platform of Advocate B.K. Singh and associates, based in Delhi NCR.
In short. A case in the National Green Tribunal is filed as an original application under section 14 or 15, or an appeal under section 16, of the NGT Act 2010. It must raise a substantial environmental question under a Schedule I Act. Limits are 6 months, 5 years or 30 days, extendable by only 60 days. Appeals go to the Supreme Court within 90 days.
The National Green Tribunal is a specialised tribunal set up under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 to decide environmental disputes quickly, with judicial members and expert members sitting together. It hears complaints by residents, villagers and environmental groups against polluting units, builders, mines and civic bodies, and it hears appeals by industries and project proponents against orders of pollution control boards and clearance authorities. Most of its cases are about air and water pollution, waste, groundwater, forests, wetlands, mining and environmental clearance.
An NGT case looks simple on paper: a short application, a modest court fee, and a tribunal that is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure. In practice the cases are won or lost on three things: whether the question falls within Schedule I, whether the application is within limitation, and what the joint committee or inspection report says. This page explains how a case is filed and defended, which section to use, which bench hears it, the documents, what usually goes wrong, and what happens after the order. It is written for applicants and for respondents, because the same rules decide both sides.
- Law
- National Green Tribunal Act 2010 (sections 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26 and 29); National Green Tribunal (Practice and Procedure) Rules 2011; the seven Acts in Schedule I, including the Water Act 1974, Air Act 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act 1986.
- Forum
- Principal Bench at New Delhi and zonal benches at Bhopal, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata, decided by where the cause of action arose. Appeal from the NGT lies to the Supreme Court under section 22.
- Time limit
- Section 14: 6 months from when the cause of action first arose. Section 15: 5 years for compensation and restitution. Section 16: 30 days from communication of the order. Each can be extended by a further 60 days only, for sufficient cause. Supreme Court appeal: 90 days.
- Documents
- Application or appeal with affidavit, impugned order or notice, photographs and site plan, test reports, consent orders and clearances, representations made to the authorities and their replies, proof of locus, vakalatnama and court fee.
What an NGT case is, and what it is not
An NGT case is a civil proceeding about the environment. The tribunal can order a unit to stop discharging effluent, direct a board to inspect and act, cancel or suspend an environmental clearance, award compensation to people harmed by pollution, and require the polluter to pay for restoring the damage. It applies the principles of sustainable development, precaution and polluter pays, which section 20 of the Act makes binding on it.
It is not a criminal court and it does not try offences. It does not decide ordinary neighbour disputes either, such as a single wall blocking light or a private drain overflowing into one plot, unless the facts show a wider environmental harm. It is also not a forum for every grievance against a government department. If the real complaint is about a building plan, a land acquisition or a service matter, the NGT will send you away, often after months.
Two kinds of people come to the tribunal. Applicants are residents, farmers, resident welfare associations, NGOs and sometimes rival businesses who want pollution stopped. Respondents and appellants are factories, builders, mine operators, hospitals, municipal corporations, development authorities and state departments, who either defend an application or challenge an order passed against them. The same procedure applies to both, and the strategy differs mostly in what you need to prove.
The provisions of the NGT Act that matter
Section 14, NGT Act
The tribunal hears all civil cases where a substantial question relating to the environment is involved and that question arises out of the Acts in Schedule I. The application must be filed within 6 months from the date the cause of action first arose, with a further 60 days possible for sufficient cause.
Section 15, NGT Act
Relief and compensation for victims of pollution and environmental damage, restitution of damaged property, and restitution of the environment for an area. The limit is 5 years from the date the cause for compensation first arose, plus up to 60 days.
Section 16, NGT Act
Appeals against orders under the Water Act, Water Cess Act and Air Act (including directions under section 33A of the Water Act and orders of the appellate authorities; directions under section 31A of the Air Act are not covered, so they are challenged by writ in the High Court), orders under section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, orders granting or refusing environmental clearance, and determinations under the Biological Diversity Act. The limit is 30 days from communication of the order, plus up to 60 days.
Sections 17, 18 and 19, NGT Act
Section 17 sets the liability rules, including no-fault liability for accidents. Section 18 says who may file, which is wide: a person injured, the owner of damaged property, any person aggrieved including a representative body or organisation, and governments and pollution boards. Section 19 frees the tribunal from the strict procedure of the CPC and the evidence law, while giving it civil court powers for summoning, discovery, affidavits and review.
Sections 22, 25, 26 and 29, NGT Act
Section 22 gives an appeal to the Supreme Court within 90 days on the kind of grounds that support a second appeal. Section 25 makes an NGT award executable as a civil court decree. Section 26 makes failure to comply an offence punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years, a heavy fine, or both. Section 29 bars civil courts from hearing matters the tribunal is empowered to decide.
The seven Acts in Schedule I decide whether the NGT can hear you
The NGT's jurisdiction is tied to a list. Schedule I contains the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act 1977, the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 (now titled the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam), the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act 1991 and the Biological Diversity Act 2002. The question you raise must arise out of one of these.
This list is wider than it looks, because the Environment (Protection) Act is the parent of most environmental rules. The EIA Notification 2006, the Noise Pollution Rules 2000, the waste management rules for solid, plastic, hazardous, bio-medical, e-waste, battery and construction waste, and the coastal and wetland rules are all made under it. So a complaint about a noisy DG set, an unauthorised landfill or a project running without clearance can come to the NGT.
Two Acts are conspicuously missing: the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006. Mining law under the MMDR Act is not in the list either. A case about poaching in a sanctuary or about illegal mining as such has to be framed through a Schedule I Act, usually the EP Act or the forest law, or it belongs in the High Court. Getting this framing right at the drafting stage avoids a dismissal at the first hearing.
Which section to file under
| What you want | Section | Time limit | Typical case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stop pollution or enforce an environmental rule | Section 14 original application | 6 months from when the cause of action first arose, plus up to 60 days | Residents against a unit discharging effluent into a drain, or against a landfill fire |
| Compensation for harm or restoration of the environment | Section 15 original application | 5 years, plus up to 60 days | Villagers whose wells were contaminated, a farmer whose crop was damaged by emissions |
| Challenge a board's closure or consent order | Section 16 appeal | 30 days from communication, plus up to 60 days | Factory appealing against closure directions under section 33A of the Water Act |
| Challenge an environmental clearance | Section 16 appeal | 30 days from communication, plus up to 60 days | Residents or the proponent appealing against an EC order |
| Challenge forest diversion approval | Section 16 appeal | 30 days from communication, plus up to 60 days | Order under section 2 of the forest conservation law |
| Correct an error in an NGT order | Review under the procedure rules | 30 days from receipt of the order | An obvious mistake of fact apparent on the record |
| Challenge the NGT's final order | Section 22 appeal to the Supreme Court | 90 days from communication | Question of law arising from the judgment |
Limitation: the 60-day ceiling is real
The NGT Act gives a fixed period and then lets the tribunal allow a further period not exceeding 60 days for sufficient cause. Beyond that the tribunal has no power to condone delay, and the general provisions of the Limitation Act do not rescue a late filing. For a section 16 appeal this means 90 days is the outer edge. Respondents check this first, and a delay of even a week past the ceiling usually ends the matter.
The harder question in section 14 cases is when the cause of action first arose. For a one-time event, such as a tree felling or a sudden discharge, the date is clear. For continuing pollution, such as a unit that discharges every day or a dump site that keeps burning, applicants argue that the wrong is continuing, and the tribunal has often accepted that a continuing violation gives a fresh cause. Respondents argue that the application is really aimed at a permission granted years ago. Draft the application around the present, ongoing harm, with recent photographs and test reports, rather than around an old approval.
For appeals, the clock runs from communication of the order, not from the date it was signed. Keep the envelope, the email with its time stamp, or the portal record showing when the order reached you. For an environmental clearance, the date the order was put in the public domain is often treated as communication to third parties, so residents cannot wait until construction starts.
Which bench hears the case
The Principal Bench at New Delhi hears matters arising in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Central Zone Bench at Bhopal covers Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The Western Zone Bench at Pune covers Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa and the western union territories. The Southern Zone Bench at Chennai covers Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry and Lakshadweep. The Eastern Zone Bench at Kolkata covers West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim and the north-eastern states. The allocation is by notification, so check it if your matter sits near a border or involves more than one state.
Filing is online through the tribunal's e-filing system, and hearings are widely held by video conference, so a case from Faridabad, Kolkata or Warangal does not require the parties to travel for every date. The Principal Bench also takes up matters of national importance and large clusters of similar cases, such as river pollution or solid waste compliance across states. If your complaint is one of many about the same river or city, it may be tagged with a larger matter, which changes how fast it moves.
Who can file, and what the tribunal expects from an applicant
Section 18 allows any person aggrieved to apply, including a representative body or organisation. You do not need to show that pollution has damaged your own property. A resident of the area, a group of farmers, a resident welfare association or a registered environmental group can file. The tribunal also takes matters up on its own, often on a newspaper report, and the Supreme Court has confirmed that it has that power.
Wide locus does not mean anything goes. The tribunal looks for a specific violation, a specific source and specific evidence. An application that says a whole industrial area is polluted, without naming units or attaching any test report, will usually be disposed of with a direction to the board to look into it, which may achieve nothing. An application that names the unit, shows the outlet, gives dates and attaches photographs, a complaint to the board and the board's silence, has a much better chance of a site inspection and real orders.
Applicants should disclose any business rivalry, personal dispute or earlier litigation about the same site. Respondents look for this and raise it as abuse of process. Where the tribunal finds an application was filed to settle a private score or to extract money, it has imposed costs on the applicant. Clean hands matter here as much as anywhere.
How an NGT original application or appeal runs
The sequence below is typical for both an original application and an appeal. Timelines vary with the bench and the nature of the case.
Prepare the record
Collect the impugned order or notice, consent orders, clearances, test reports, photographs with dates and location, complaints made to the board or district administration, and their replies. For an appeal, the order and the proof of its communication are the core.
Draft and file
The application or memorandum of appeal sets out the facts, the Schedule I Act involved, the substantial environmental question, the relief, and a statement on limitation. It is supported by an affidavit and filed online with the court fee. Respondents must be named correctly: the unit, the board, the district magistrate, the clearance authority or the ministry as needed.
First hearing
At the first hearing the bench decides whether to issue notice, dismiss in limine, or dispose with directions. In many pollution complaints it constitutes a joint committee, often of the Central Pollution Control Board, the state board and the district magistrate, and asks for a factual and action-taken report.
Committee inspection and report
The committee visits the site, collects samples and reports. Both sides should participate, give written submissions and ask that their documents be recorded. The report is the evidence most orders are built on.
Replies and objections
Respondents file replies and objections to the report. Applicants file rejoinders. Short, document-backed affidavits work better than long arguments.
Final hearing and order
The bench hears arguments and passes directions, compensation or a dismissal. Orders are uploaded on the tribunal's website. Compliance dates in the order are strictly monitored in many cases.
Many original applications are disposed of at the first or second hearing with directions to the authorities to act within a fixed time. That is a result, not a defeat, if the directions are specific. If they are vague, ask the bench to fix a reporting date.
Joint committees and site reports: where cases are really decided
In most pollution cases the NGT does not take oral evidence. It asks a joint committee or the state board to inspect and report, and then acts on that report. This makes the inspection the most important event in the case, more important than the drafting.
If you are the applicant, give the committee a written note listing the exact outlets, dumping points, chimneys or borewells you want examined, with a sketch and coordinates. If samples are to be taken, ask that the time of discharge be considered, because a unit that pollutes at night will look clean at noon. If you are the unit, keep your consent orders, monitoring data, hazardous waste records and manifests, and maintenance logs ready, and make sure the person who meets the committee knows the plant.
When the report comes, read it the day it is uploaded. Committee reports sometimes rely on old data, mix up two units, or record a violation without saying whether sampling followed the procedure in the Water Act or Air Act. Objections filed promptly, pointing to exact pages and supported by documents, often lead the bench to call for a fresh or supplementary report. In NGT matters that reach Advocate B.K. Singh's office, the weak point is very often an unanswered committee report: the respondent did not object in time, and the bench treated the findings as accepted.
Defending an NGT case: industries, builders and public bodies
A respondent's first questions are about jurisdiction and limitation: does the case raise a substantial environmental question under a Schedule I Act, and was it filed in time? These are proper objections, but the NGT rarely dismisses a credible pollution complaint on technical grounds alone. The defence that works is usually factual: the unit has valid consents, its monitoring results meet the standards, the alleged discharge comes from somewhere else, or the problem has been fixed.
For a factory, this means producing consent to establish and consent to operate, online monitoring data where required, third-party analysis reports from recognised laboratories, and evidence of corrective steps with dates. For a builder or developer, it means the environmental clearance, compliance reports filed with the ministry or SEIAA, consent orders, groundwater permissions, and dust and construction waste measures. For a municipal corporation or development authority, the tribunal wants a time-bound action plan backed by budget and responsible officers, not a general assurance.
Respondents should also think about the cost of losing. The NGT often fixes interim environmental compensation pending a final decision, sometimes on a formula based on the unit's category and size. A respondent who has already fixed the problem and can show it is in a much better position to argue that compensation should be modest or that the matter should be closed. Arguing the law while the drain still runs black rarely helps.
Interim orders: stay, closure and protection
The NGT can pass interim orders at any stage, including directing closure of a unit, sealing of a borewell, stoppage of construction, or a stay on felling or mining. Applicants who need urgent protection should say why in the application, with evidence of ongoing harm, and mention the matter for early listing. A general prayer for stay, without showing irreversible damage, is usually not granted at the first hearing.
On the other side, a unit or project facing closure directions from a board can file a section 16 appeal and ask for a stay of those directions. The tribunal usually looks at whether the closure was preceded by a proper notice and hearing, whether the violations are serious or technical, and whether the unit is willing to comply under supervision. A conditional stay, for example on depositing an amount or giving an undertaking and allowing a fresh inspection, is common. Our page on pollution board closure notices and closure orders covers that situation in detail.
Compensation and the polluter pays principle
The NGT awards two kinds of money. Compensation under section 15 goes to identifiable people who were harmed: residents, farmers, fishermen, or the families of those injured in an accident. Environmental compensation is restitution for damage to the environment itself, usually deposited with the state board or a separate account and used for restoration under a plan.
The amount is fixed either on evidence of actual loss or, more often, on a methodology developed by the Central Pollution Control Board that uses factors such as the category of industry, the scale of operations and the duration of violation. The tribunal has also linked compensation to a project's cost or turnover in some cases. Respondents can challenge the basis of the calculation, the period of violation used, and whether they were heard before the figure was fixed.
Pollution boards can also demand environmental compensation directly. In 2025 the Supreme Court confirmed that boards may require restitutionary or compensatory damages under their directions powers, subject to fair procedure and a framework laid down in advance. A demand from a board can therefore lead to an NGT appeal on its own, which our page on environmental compensation demands explains.
Documents for an NGT case
For an applicant
- Photographs and videos with dates and locations
- Site plan or sketch with distances to homes, water bodies or schools
- Complaints made to the state board, district magistrate or municipal body, with proof of delivery
- Any replies, inspection reports or RTI answers received
- Test reports of water, air or soil samples, if available
- Proof of residence or of the organisation's registration and authority to file
- Copies of news reports, used only as background
For a unit, builder or project respondent
- Consent to establish and consent to operate, with all renewals
- Environmental clearance and compliance reports, where applicable
- Hazardous waste authorisation, manifests and annual returns
- Online monitoring data and third-party laboratory reports
- Groundwater NOC and water meter records
- Notices received from the board and replies filed
- Photographs and invoices showing corrective works
For an appeal under section 16
- The impugned order and proof of the date of communication
- The show cause notice and the reply given before the order
- Inspection report or sample analysis relied on in the order
- Correspondence after the order, including any compliance report
- Court fee and vakalatnama
How long an NGT case takes and what it costs in general terms
Some matters are disposed of in one or two hearings with directions to the authorities. Contested appeals and compensation cases with committee reports usually take several months, and cases tagged with larger matters about a river or a city can run longer. The tribunal has been strict about compliance dates, and repeated non-compliance invites heavier orders.
The court fee is modest: ₹1,000 where no compensation is claimed, and linked to the amount where compensation is claimed (check the current rule). The real costs are in preparation: getting samples tested by a recognised laboratory, preparing maps and site plans, and, for respondents, any corrective works or deposits the tribunal may require as a condition of interim relief. Expert evidence is not always needed, but a technical note from an environmental consultant helps when the case turns on emission data or groundwater levels.
Mistakes that sink NGT cases
- Filing outside Schedule I. A case framed only under the Wild Life Act, the MMDR Act, building bye-laws or municipal law, without a Schedule I angle, invites dismissal.
- Missing the 60-day ceiling. The tribunal cannot condone delay beyond the statutory extension, however good the reason.
- Vague allegations. Naming an entire industrial area or city without specific units, dates and evidence usually produces only a general direction to the board.
- Ignoring the committee visit. Not attending, or attending without documents, leaves the report to be written without your side.
- Not objecting to the report. An unanswered report is treated as accepted, and orders follow it.
- Wrong or missing respondents. Leaving out the board, the clearance authority or the person actually running the unit delays the case and can make the order unenforceable.
- Hiding a private dispute. A rival business or personal quarrel that comes out later damages credibility and can lead to costs.
- Treating the order as the end. Directions with compliance dates need follow-up, and execution is a separate step.
A made-up example: the dye unit and the storm drain
Here's a made-up example. Residents of a colony on the edge of an industrial area notice coloured water in the storm drain behind their houses every evening. They complain twice to the state board and once to the district magistrate, with photographs. Nothing happens for five months. They file an original application under section 14 naming the board, the district magistrate and two dyeing units they believe are responsible.
At the first hearing the bench constitutes a joint committee. The residents give the committee a note asking that samples be taken after 7 pm, when the discharge happens, and point out a hidden pipe near the boundary wall of one unit. The committee finds that one unit has a bypass line and that its consent expired months earlier. The second unit's records and samples are in order.
The tribunal directs closure of the first unit until it removes the bypass, obtains fresh consent and deposits environmental compensation fixed on the board's methodology. The application against the second unit is closed. The residents were right about the drain but partly wrong about the source, and the committee visit is what sorted it out.
After the order: review, execution and appeal to the Supreme Court
If the order contains an error apparent on the face of the record, a review application can be filed before the same bench within 30 days of receiving the order. Review is not a second hearing, and it rarely succeeds on arguments already made.
An NGT order is executable as a decree of a civil court under section 25, and wilful non-compliance is an offence under section 26 punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years, a fine, or both, with higher fines for companies. Applicants whose orders are not obeyed should file an execution application with evidence of the continuing violation. Respondents who need more time should apply before the deadline expires, with reasons and a progress report, rather than after.
An appeal from the NGT lies only to the Supreme Court under section 22, within 90 days, and only on the kind of grounds that support a second appeal, essentially a substantial question of law. A writ petition to a High Court against an NGT final order is generally not the route. Supreme Court appeals are filed through an Advocate-on-Record; our page on Supreme Court SLPs and appeals explains that stage.
NGT, High Court, civil court or police: choosing the right forum
Section 29 bars civil courts from hearing matters the NGT can decide, so a suit for an injunction against pollution from a factory is usually the wrong route. A private nuisance suit between two neighbours over smell or noise from one house may still go to the civil court, because it does not raise a substantial environmental question.
High Courts keep their writ jurisdiction under Article 226, and some environmental matters are better there: cases mainly under the Wild Life Act or forest rights law, challenges to the validity of a rule or notification, or cases where the main relief is against a government policy. Where the NGT is available, High Courts often ask petitioners to go there. Our page on environmental PILs, stay applications and contempt covers the writ side.
Criminal complaints under the Water Act and Air Act are filed before the magistrate by the board, and after recent amendments many offences under the EP Act, Air Act and Water Act have been replaced with monetary penalties fixed by an adjudicating officer, with an appeal to the NGT. Police can register FIRs for offences under the BNS, such as public nuisance or theft of minerals, but that runs separately from an NGT case. Choosing the forum is the first strategic decision, and it is worth an hour of advice before anyone drafts anything. When Advocate B.K. Singh is asked whether a matter should go to the NGT or the High Court, he usually starts by asking which Act the main violation falls under and what the client actually wants the order to say.
What to do this week
- Write down the date the cause of action arose or the order was communicated, and work out the last date with the 60-day extension.
- Identify the Schedule I Act that applies, usually the Water Act, Air Act or EP Act.
- Collect photographs, test reports, complaints and replies into one indexed file.
- If you are a unit, pull out every consent, clearance, authorisation and monitoring report for the last three years.
- Send a written complaint or reply to the board if none has been sent, and keep proof of delivery.
- Check whether a related case about the same river, city or industrial area is already pending before the NGT.
- Decide who will meet the joint committee if one is formed, and brief that person.
- Read our pages on replying to a state pollution control board notice and environmental clearance and EC violations if either applies.
Related matters and the next step
NGT cases often grow out of earlier steps: a show cause notice from a pollution board, a refused consent to establish or consent to operate, an effluent discharge or ETP problem, or a complaint about illegal mining or sand mining. Handling the earlier step well often means the NGT case is shorter or never needed. For a wider view of environmental compliance and litigation, see our page on environmental law compliance and litigation.
If you want the papers checked before you act, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at Legals365 can review them and tell you the next step: talk to a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I file a case in the National Green Tribunal?
You file an original application under section 14 or 15, or an appeal under section 16, through the tribunal's online e-filing system with an affidavit, supporting documents and the court fee. The application must name the Schedule I Act involved and the respondents. Hearings are often held by video conference.
What is the time limit for filing a case in the NGT?
Six months from when the cause of action first arose for a section 14 application, five years for compensation under section 15, and 30 days from communication of the order for a section 16 appeal. The tribunal can extend each by not more than 60 days for sufficient cause. It cannot go beyond that.
What is the court fee in the NGT?
The fee is ₹1,000 where no compensation is claimed. Where compensation is claimed, the fee is linked to the amount claimed. Check the current procedure rules before filing.
Can an individual file a case in the NGT without being directly affected?
Yes. Section 18 allows any person aggrieved, including a representative body or organisation, to file. You still need specific facts and evidence about the violation, or the tribunal will usually dispose of the case with general directions.
Which NGT bench will hear my case?
The bench is decided by where the cause of action arose. The Principal Bench at New Delhi covers Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir; zonal benches sit at Bhopal, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata for other regions.
Can the NGT hear a wildlife or illegal mining case?
Only if the case can be framed under one of the seven Schedule I Acts, such as the EP Act or the forest conservation law. The Wild Life Act and the MMDR Act are not in Schedule I. Otherwise the High Court under Article 226 is usually the forum.
Do I need a lawyer to file in the NGT?
Parties can appear in person, and some do. In practice, framing the substantial environmental question, getting limitation right and answering committee reports are where cases are lost, so legal help is usually worth it, especially for respondents facing closure or compensation.
What is a joint committee in NGT cases?
It is a team, often of CPCB, the state pollution board and the district magistrate's office, that the tribunal asks to inspect the site and report. The report is usually the main evidence. Both sides should take part in the inspection and file objections to the report if needed.
How do I defend a case filed against my factory in the NGT?
Check jurisdiction and limitation, then build a factual defence: valid consents, monitoring data, laboratory reports and evidence of corrective steps. Take part in any committee inspection. If there was a problem, fixing it and proving it usually does more than legal arguments.
Can I appeal against an NGT order?
Yes, to the Supreme Court under section 22 within 90 days, on a substantial question of law. A review before the NGT is possible within 30 days only for an error apparent on the record. A High Court writ against a final NGT order is generally not the route.
What happens if someone does not comply with an NGT order?
The order can be executed as a civil court decree, and wilful non-compliance is an offence under section 26 punishable with imprisonment up to three years, a fine, or both. File an execution application with evidence of the continuing violation.
Can I file a civil suit instead of going to the NGT?
Not for matters the NGT can decide; section 29 bars civil courts from those. A private nuisance dispute between neighbours that does not raise a wider environmental question can still go to the civil court.
Need help with NGT? Send your papers or a short note of what has happened. An advocate from the team of Advocate B.K. Singh will read it and tell you the next step.
