I.A. Nos. 23, 40, 42, 55-57 and 63-69 in Writ Petition (C) No. 657 of 1995 with S.L.P. (C) No. 16175 of 1997, Civil Appeal No. 7660 of 1997 and Contempt Petition (C) No. 155 of 2005. Case: Research Foundation for science technology and National Resource Policy Vs Union of India (UOI). Supreme Court (India)
| Case Number | I.A. Nos. 23, 40, 42, 55-57 and 63-69 in Writ Petition (C) No. 657 of 1995 with S.L.P. (C) No. 16175 of 1997, Civil Appeal No. 7660 of 1997 and Contempt Petition (C) No. 155 of 2005 |
| Counsel | For Appearing Parties: Shri Rakesh Kr. Khanna, ASG, Dr. Manish Singhvi, Manjit Singh, AAGs, S.P. Singh, Vikas Singh, Raj Panjwani and Ashok Kumar Panda, Sr. Advocates, Sanjay Parikh, Ms. Mamta Saxena, Ms. Bushra, Parveen, Ms. N. Vidya, A.N. Singh, Karuna Nundy, Ms. Aparna Bhat, P. Parmeswaran, Ms. B. Vijayalakshmi Menon, S. Deshpande, Ms. ... |
| Judges | H.L. Gokhale and Kurian Joseph, JJ. |
| Issue | Customs Act; Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 - Rules 4, 5, 6, 8(1), 9, 21(1) |
| Citation | 2014 (301) ELT 433 (SC), 2014 (3) SCALE 531 |
| Judgement Date | March 04, 2014 |
| Court | Supreme Court (India) |
Order:
1. This matter came up before this Bench on 13-2-2014 when it was noticed that in spite of order passed by this Court in Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy v. Union of India and Ors., reported in: 2012 (6) SCALE 253: 2012 (7) SCC 769: 2012 (282) E.L.T. 321 (S.C.), 170 containers referred to in paragraph 16 of the SCALE Report [paragraph 43 of 2012 (7) SCC 769] were lying without incineration. We were informed on that date the number of containers containing waste oil and various other waste materials were 212. We are also informed that analysis of the samples from these containers was obtained way back on 8-5-2007 and still no action was taken to dispose of those hazardous materials. We therefore directed necessary affidavits to be filed stating as to what steps are going to be taken with respect to the incineration of these waste materials. Subsequently, the matter came up on 18-2-2014 when certain affidavits were filed but the information was not complete and therefore, we directed a report to be filed by Ms. Seema Jere Bisht, Commissioner of Customs (Import), Mr. Arvind Pradhan, Manager (Traffic), JNPT and Dr. Yeshwant Sontakke, Regional Officer of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board at Navi Mumbai. They were also asked to take assistance from Dr. D.B. Boralkar and Dr. Claude Alvares both experts in the field as suggested by Mr. Sanjay Parekh, Learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner. Now a report has been submitted, as directed, along with the affidavit of Ms. Seema Jere Bisht. This report records that in the near vicinity of JNPT, only one agency is available for incineration, namely Mumbai Waste Management Ltd., situated at Plot No. P-32, MIDC Taloja, Tal, Panvel, District Raigad. It is at a distance of 30 Kilometres from the area where the goods are kept. The agency has also agreed to accept the rate as suggested by the Commissioner of Customs which is in tune with the relevant rules. The suggested rate for disposal of waste oil is Rs. 14.80 per Kg. including collection, transportation and unloading charges. As far as non-ferrous metallic hazardous waste is concerned, the charges for disposal are Rs. 3.75 per Kg. for all purposes. The responsibility for transportation and all precautions, etc., will be of the concerned agency. Therefore, as the affidavit states in paragraph 6, the Committee uniformly decided that this particular agency be preferred for the purpose of incineration.
2. Mr. Vijay Panjwani, Learned Counsel appearing for the Central Pollution Control Board has drawn out attention to The Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008, and particularly Rules 4, 5 & 6 thereof which lay down the procedure for handling hazardous wastes. We expect the agency to follow these rules which are statutory rules. They shall also comply with the rules which are framed for the protection of the employees who work in these hazardous procedures. The Committee has recommended following modalities for destruction and final disposal of the hazardous wastes other than waste oil:
Modalities of destruction and final disposal
18. The following procedure shall be followed for the waste oil consignments:
(a) An MPCB Officer and CFS representative shall be deputed to supervise the loading of the containers...
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