MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has directed the Union government to consider allowing police officers to lodge complaints for offences under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), including illegal hacking of mangroves. At present, only the central government, district collector, authorised officers of the pollution control board or a person who has given 60 days notice can lodge a complaint for violations under EPA.A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Amjad Sayed said, “It is noticed that there are a large number of cases attracting the penal provision (under EPA). But there are hardly any prosecutions… To make the provisions of EPA more meaningful, it is necessary for the Central government to consider authorising police officers of specified ranks in accordance so that criminal law will be set in motion promptly and there will be a proper investigation.” The HC has given the Centre a month to make a decision. If convicted, the accused can be sentenced up to five yea-rs’ jail and/or a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
The HC said that unless certain police officers are authorised to lodge FIRs there cannot be appropriate implementation of the EPA. “The collectors or pollution control board officers who are duly authorised are vested with various other duties,” the court pointed out.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by the Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society for protection of mangroves. The HC was called upon to decide if FIRs lodged by police for hacking or destroying mangroves are valid as they are not authorised to do so under EPA.
The HC held that FIRs lodged by police and probess carried out by it so far are not per se illegal. “The officers authoris-ed under EPA can file complai-nts by relying upon the material collected during the investig-ation and material forming part of the chargesheet prepar-ed by police,” the HC ruled. The next hearing is on January 27.