The Supreme Court has strongly objected to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, in which a fine of Rs 50 crore was imposed on a Moradabad-based handicraft export company for violating environmental norms. The apex court quashed the NGT order, saying that the law does not allow “picking on anyone” in environmental matters. Case related to a Moradabad company Digital Desk, New Delhi. The country’s highest court expressed displeasure over the NGT order, in which a fine of Rs 50 crore was imposed on Moradabad-based handicraft export company CL Gupta Exports Limited for alleged violation of environmental norms. The Supreme Court quashed the NGT order while hearing the case. The court said that the law of the country does not allow any state institution or any investigative agency to treat anyone unfairly or “pick on anyone” in environmental matters. Criticism of the NGT decision In their judgment on August 22, Supreme Court Chief Justice BR Goyal and Justice K Vinod The Chandran bench said that even if the company had violated the rules, it was not legally correct to impose a penalty based on its turnover. The court also criticised the NGT's 145-page long judgment, in which the company was fined for alleged violation of environmental norms. The court expressed displeasure and said that the judgment did not use reason and intelligence in proportion to the number of pages used. Supreme Court's advice to NGT The Supreme Court, in its judgment, said that the spirit of judicial decisions is based on rational deliberation. Courts and tribunals should avoid rhetorical style of merely making general references to the law. The court said that we cannot say anything more than that and set aside the NGT order to the above extent and allow the appeal. Wrongly imposed penalty The Supreme Court said that it is wrong to impose a penalty based on the annual turnover of the company. The NGT found the company's revenue in the case to be between Rs 100 crore and Rs 500 crore and imposed a fine of Rs 50 crore on this basis. The court said that the procedure adopted by the NGT for imposing penalty is not acceptable under any legal principle. The court further said that we completely agree with this opinion and add that the law does not allow any state body or its agency to make even a single penny of unfair recovery in environmental matters. References Hindustan Times, Times of India, Live Hindustan, The Indian Express, NDTV, X Post by