New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling that a building owner cannot be held responsible for environmental violations committed by a tenant operating from the premises.
The case arose from Surat, Gujarat, where a dyeing unit run by a private company functioned in 2020 on property owned by Jagmohan Lachhiram Jalan. The Gujarat Pollution Control Board ordered the unit’s closure that year, citing operation without a licence and failure to follow prescribed guidelines.
After the unit’s discharge was found to exceed permitted limits, officials imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 25 lakh on the property owner. Jalan argued that the premises had been rented on a contract basis to a company director and that he was unaware the unit was operating without the required permissions.
Despite his objections, the compensation was reiterated. Following a High Court direction to reconsider the matter, the Pollution Control Board confirmed the amount in 2024, prompting Jalan to approach the NGT.
In November last year, the NGT held that Jalan need not pay the interim environmental compensation for violations by the unit operating in the rented premises. The Pollution Control Board challenged this before the Supreme Court, but a bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Sachdeva affirmed the NGT’s view that owners cannot be made liable for tenants’ environmental breaches.
