The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on an applicant for misleading the court and wasting its time, stating that the individual failed to approach the tribunal with “clean hands” in a matter related to sand mining in Uttar Pradesh.
The case pertains to Vipin Kumar Saxena, who had filed an application before the tribunal claiming that the Uttar Pradesh State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) had unduly delayed the decision on his plea for restoration of his Environmental Clearance (EC) to undertake sand mining on the Dhasan River. Saxena contended that he had fulfilled all conditions required for the clearance and sought a decision on the matter.
However, a panel constituted by the NGT had earlier found deficiencies in Saxena's compliance with EC conditions. Despite this, Saxena claimed that he had not been informed about the cancellation of his EC or the rejection of his restoration request.
In an order issued on May 23, a bench led by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, along with judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Afroz Ahmad, rejected Saxena's claim. The bench cited SEIAA’s response, which confirmed that the cancellation order had been duly served via speed post and email, and was also uploaded on a public portal.
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“The above material establishes that the order of cancellation of EC was duly conveyed to the applicant and it was also uploaded in the public portal. Therefore, the applicant cannot deny its knowledge,” the tribunal stated. The NGT found that Saxena had “falsely” claimed in an additional affidavit filed on January 29, that he had not received the cancellation order dated December 12, 2024. The tribunal termed this a clear act of dishonesty.
“Thus, we find that the applicant has not approached the tribunal with clean hands and has unnecessarily wasted not only the time of the tribunal but has also caused harassment to the respondents (state authorities),” the bench observed. Consequently, the tribunal dismissed the original application and ordered Saxena to pay a cost of ₹25,000 to the SEIAA, Uttar Pradesh, within two weeks.
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