SC: NGT Can’t Abdicate Role, Petrol Pump Allowed If Statutory Norms Met

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran heard appeals by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and others challenging two orders of the National Green Tribunal that had stayed the establishment of a petrol pump in Haridwar and referred the matter to a fact-finding committee. The appeals contested the NGT's reliance on committee reports and alleged breaches of the principles of natural justice in the disposal of the proceedings.

The Court allowed the appeals, set aside the NGT orders dated 01.02.2021 and 11.11.2022 and directed the District Magistrate, Haridwar to consider the matter afresh and to permit establishment of the retail outlet if it complied with extant laws and clearances. The bench held that the NGT had "abdicated its powers" by entrusting decisive adjudicatory functions to committees and by disposing of an execution petition on the first date without notice to the parties, thereby violating the "principles of natural justice." The Court relied on contemporaneous committee reports which, taken together with statutory clearances, indicated compliance with the CPCB siting guidelines for retail outlets. 

The Court, in its reasoning, observed: "There can be no dispute as to the NGT being an adjudicatory authority and the procedure, regulated inter-alia by principles of natural justice. The first impugned order is gross, for the NGT abdicated its powers and entrusted a committee to look into the compliance of the guidelines and disposed of the matter. The second order is starker insofar as the principles of natural justice having been given a complete go by and the execution petition having been disposed of on the first date, directing compliance with the earlier order, which entered no finding and the later report, which was vague in so far as the siting criteria in the guidelines." The bench also noted the reports that found the proposed site lay in a commercial area and that statutory no-objection certificates had been obtained.

Background

The dispute arose when the 1st respondent filed proceedings before the NGT alleging that a proposed petrol pump violated the Central Pollution Control Board's siting guidelines dated 07.01.2020 — notably the prescribed radial distances (50 metres, or 30 metres with PESO-prescribed safeguards) from schools, hospitals and designated residential areas — and that a high-tension line passed over the site. The NGT initially directed a joint committee (CPCB, Uttarakhand PCB and SEIAA) to report. The Committee produced a report finding commercial activity around the site and other factual details; subsequent communications from local authorities recorded several No Objection Certificates including inspections and PESO clearance. Despite these developments, the NGT, invoking the precautionary principle, treated the site as objectionable, kept NOCs in abeyance and left final decision-making to the committee.

Thereafter an execution petition under Section 25 of the NGT Act was disposed of on admission, without notice to the appellants, by directing compliance with the earlier order and committee report. The appellants challenged both orders before the Supreme Court. The appellants argued that all statutory compliances were completed, that the site fell in a commercial zone under the Haridwar Master Plan and that one nearby play school was non‑functional. The 1st respondent maintained the guidelines had been flouted and alleged suppression of the NGT order before statutory authorities. The Supreme Court examined precedents — including Sanghar Zuber Ismail v. Union of India, Kantha Vibhag Yuva Koli Samaj Parivartan Trust and Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station v. Ashwani Kumar Dubey — emphasising that expert committees assist but cannot replace the adjudicatory function of the NGT and that orders must accord with Section 19(1) and natural justice. Finding the NGT's procedure deficient and the committee reports collectively showing no breach of the CPCB guidelines, the Court refused a remand to avoid further prejudice and delay to the public interest and entrepreneurs. The appeals were allowed; the impugned NGT orders were set aside and the District Magistrate was directed to consider statutory clearances afresh and permit the petrol pump if in compliance of extant law. Pending applications stood disposed of.

Case Details:
Case No.: Civil Appeal No.3042 of 2023; with Civil Appeal Nos.4991-4992 of 2024
NeutralCitation: 2026 INSC 278
Case Title: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Versus Deepak Sharma and Ors.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. Neeraj Malhotra, Senior Counsel; Mr. Raghavendra P. Shankar, Additional Solicitor General
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Siddhartha Iyer, Advocate

Source: 2026 CaseBase(SC) 253