The Kerala High Court, in a recent judgment, reprimanded the Kerala State Minority Commission for acting ultra vires in ordering the grant of an Environmental Clearance to a person belonging to a minority community for conducting a granite building stone quarry. A single bench of Justice C Jayachandran came down heavily on the State Minority Commission on 13th October during the hearing of a petition challenging the Commission’s order.
The Commission’s order is a classic example of abuse of power: HC
Striking down the Commission’s order, the High Court called it out for acting without jurisdiction due to misplaced empathy towards quarry owner Mathew J, merely because he belonged to the minority community. “…order impugned in this Writ Petition reflects a classic example of abuse of power by the 1st respondent Minority Commission,” the High Court ruled, noting that the petitioners, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), are the competent authorities to grant the clearance.
The issue emerged when, following a complaint by Mathew J, who wanted an Environmental Clearance to set up a granite quarry at Kannur’s Vellad village, the State Minority Commission directed the SEIAA to issue him the clearance within a month. The Commission reasoned that since Mathew J had submitted all required documents, he was entitled to the clearance.
However, the SEIAA and the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) filed a writ petition before the Kerala High Court challenging the Commission’s order, citing its lack of jurisdiction. The court agreed with the petitions that the Commission does not have powers to issue such directions.
Pathetic that the Commission can’t think beyond minority sentiments: HC
Reminding the State Minority Commission of the limits of its jurisdiction, the High Court harshly remarked, “It is pathetic that the Commission cannot reason beyond the sentiments of the members of the Minority Community, when there exists a statutory regime for dealing with the matter and for redressal of grievance”. The High Court said that the Commission is not empowered to interfere in every matter concerning a member of a minority community, even when it lacks the jurisdiction. “It is not as if any and every grievance of a member of the Minority Community can be taken stock of and relief granted by the Minority Commission of the State, especially when the powers and functions have been defined specifically in the Act,” the Court added.
The High Court said that the SEIAA and the SEAC are the competent statutory bodies established under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of 2006, to make a decision regarding the issuance of an Environmental Clearance. It explained that the State Minority Commission is only empowered to protect the rights and welfare of minority communities in social, educational and economic contexts, and has no authority to issue directions to the SEIAA and the SEAC, particularly in matters relating to environmental law. The High Court added that any grievance regarding SEIAA’s decision must be placed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the appropriate appellate forum, and not the Minority Commission.
