Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
The Meghalaya High Court on July 12 said it would hear the petitioners who are aggrieved by its order for dismantling of the existing coke plants.
The Supreme Court, however, recently stayed the high court’s order.
Senior advocate SP Mahanta appeared on behalf of the petitioners before the Supreme Court and sought time to apply to be impleaded.
A full bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee said, “The application for impleadment will only be a formality. However, the point of view of the petitioners before the Supreme Court needs to be looked into and, as such, Mahanta’s clients are permitted a week to file the relevant application including all grounds for variation of the order dated May 24, 2022 and possible challenges to the preliminary recommendations of Justice Katakey as contained in the report of May 23, 2022.”
An order passed by the Supreme Court on June 27, 2022 on a special leave petition filed by a party that runs a coke unit in the state was brought to the notice of high court.
The petitioners before the Supreme Court contended that the order dated May 24, 2022 had been passed by the court adversely affecting such petitioners, but without hearing them. Such petitioners also asserted that no environmental impact assessment report was necessary to establish a coke plant.
Justice Katakey had earlier been requested by an order of Meghalaya High Court of April 19, 2022 to ascertain the extent to which the directions issued by the Supreme Court and by the National Green Tribunal in respect of establishing and running of coke plants under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 had been complied with by the State.
The High Court stated, “By the aforesaid order of the Supreme Court, leave was given to the petitioners before that Court to apply to be impleaded in the present proceedings and this Court has been required to hear such petitioners for modification of the interim order of May 24, 2022. The directions apparently issued by this Court for dismantling the coke plants have been stayed and made non-operational by the relevant order of the Supreme Court.”
Coal India Limited is represented and has sought copies of affidavits filed by the State and the reports prepared, particularly pertaining to how the accumulated coal may be dealt with.
The high court has directed that all relevant reports, affidavits and papers in such regard should be forwarded to Advocate-on-Record for Coal India Limited as expeditiously as possible.
The next hearing will be on July 20, 2022.