The Supreme Court rejected a request to hold an urgent hearing on a petition calling for measures to reduce the air pollution in Delhi-NCR and a total ban on stubble burning.
An urgent hearing of the case was declined by a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Hima Kohli, and JB Pardiwala, who argued that these are not matters that technically fall under the competence of the judiciary.
“So will the ban help it? Some matters courts can look into and some it cannot since they are not judicially amenable,” the bench said asking that “can it enforce this against every farmer across Punjab and Uttar Pradesh?”
The bench made its views after attorney Shashank Shekhar Jha mentioned his request for an urgent hearing. An earlier bench had scheduled the case for hearing on November 10.
In the petition, it was requested that the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh be summoned and ordered to personally accept responsibility for there being no case of stubble-burning anywhere.
It requested guidance for establishing new rules for stubble burning in all the states. The petition requested that recommendations be issued to each and every state directing them to implement the necessary pollution-reduction measures, such as the construction of smog towers, plantation drives, accessible public transportation, etc.
“The public at large is forced to inhale polluted air and oxygen filled with smog. Despite of the clear orders of this Court to stop stubble burning and construction causing air pollution, there is rampant pollution in the National Capital Territory and other places, making it difficult for people to survive,” said the plea, adding that the situation is directly against the right to life of people at large.
The petition said that on November 3, the AQI level in Delhi ranged from 440 to 460, which, according to a number of sources, “affects healthy people and substantially hurts those with established conditions.”
According to the report, an AQI of 400 or greater is deemed “severe,” and it can have an impact on both healthy individuals and those who are already ill.
It asked for guidance on how to form a high-level group with a retired Supreme Court judge as its chairman to address the air-pollution crisis brought on by stubble burning.
In order to preserve the lives of the general public, the petition also encouraged schools, colleges, the government, private offices, etc. to go virtual or online.
The counsel claimed that governments like Punjab neglected to offer farmers an alternative to burning stubble, which is the main cause of pollution.