New Delhi [India], April 3 : The Supreme Court on Thursday deprecated certain "scandalous" allegations made against Public Interest lawyer MC Mehta, whose various litigations have resulted in numerous landmark judgements and brought in social reforms, especially concerning the environment.
The said allegations were made by one Mukesh Singh who appeared as party-in-person and alleged that litigations over environmental issues such as banning firecrackers is nothing but a conspiracy brewed by foreign agencies.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Okay and Ujjal Bhuyan warned Singh of issuing contempt notice against him and termed his allegations as "scandalous" and "reckless".
"We deprecate such scandalous allegations. They are not at all bona fide. We would be fully justified in issuing a contempt notice. Such reckless allegations will not be tolerated hereafter", the Court noted in its order.
Singh had told the bench that MC Mehta receives funds from charity institutions that are based abroad and have connections with Naxalites in India.
Noting that the applicant had indulged in such "reckless" practice for the first time, the top court refrained from issuing a contempt notice against him.
The Court noted that MC Mehta's PILs have resulted in the evolution of laws related to pollution and has helped government authorities to significantly reduce environmental pollution. Thus, the Court rejected Singh's application while issuing a warning to him.
The aforesaid incident took place while the court was hearing a matter pertaining to the permanent ban on bursting of firecrackers in Delhi NCR region.
Firecracker manufacturers who appeared in the matter had challenged the permanent ban on firecrackers and sought that the Court grant them some relief. Discussions took place over "green crackers" that manufacturers claimed were less polluting than general firecrackers.
However, the Court rejected such applications and did not interfere with the permanent ban. It clarified that it will reconsider its decision only when it scientifically proved that "green crackers" do not emit pollution.