Karnataka High Court Acknowledges CEERA, NLSIU for Report on Prosecution of Offences under Pollution Control Laws
June 28, 2023
The Karnataka High Court has appreciated the Centre for Environmental Law Education Research and Advocacy (CEERA), NLSIU for its work on preparing a Manual on the Prosecution of Offences under Pollution Control Laws. The Centre, established in 1997, focuses on research and policy advocacy in the field of environmental law. The CEERA team completed the work within two months of the the orders of Justice Suraj Govindaraj, in the case of Byre Gowda v State of Karnataka, Crim no 8067 of 2019.
The High Court order dated April 17, 2023 states: “The Karnataka High Court places its appreciation to the National Law School of India University as also the Centre for Environmental Law Education Research and Advocacy for preparing such exhaustive reports.”
Background
The High Court of Karnataka in its order dated March 9, 2023 in Crl. P 8067/2019 had directed CEERA to engage and train officers of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in matters connecting to prosecution of offences under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The Centre had then organised four batches of training programmes for KSPCB officers based on the Manual for Prosecution of Offences under Environmental Laws, providing insight and guidance on the intricacies associated with conduct of search and collection of evidence, drafting of complaints, and leading of evidence.
Further, the High Court directed that a Manual be prepared on the aforesaid subject matter as a guidance document for officers at the time of filing Criminal Complaints before appropriate Courts, and to be published on the website of the KSPCB for benefit of its officers.
Team
The team is headed by Prof. (Dr.) Sairam Bhat, Professor of Law and Coordinator, CEERA and comprised Mr. Rohith Kamath, Consultant, and Mr. Jaibatruka, Research Fellow, who were involved in preparing the manual. Other members of CEERA were involved in training the KSPCB officers. The work involved studying all criminal cases filed by the PCBs, criminal complaints, evidence, interacting with Advocates of PCB, etc.
Reacting to this recognition, they said: “The team at CEERA, NLSIU under the stewardship of Prof. (Dr.) Sairam Bhat is elated and humbled by the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka’s appreciation. The team takes immense pride for the privilege cast by the Hon’ble High Court in drafting the manual which aims at aiding officers engaged in prevention and control of pollution.”
To read the full manual prepared by CEERA, click here.