Loknath Rao Bodipudi vs Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation through the Commissioner and Ors. — Bombay HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Loknath Rao Bodipudi vs Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation through the Commissioner and Ors. — Bombay HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty to the Petitioner to approach the National Green Tribunal by filing an Appeal; if such Appeal is filed within one month, the NGT to bear in mind the Petitioner's bona fide prosecution of the Writ Petition while dealing with any prayer for condonation of delay.

Issue for consideration

Whether the High Court should entertain the Writ Petition by the cardiac-patient Petitioner aggrieved by the setting up of the RMC Plant adjacent to his house, given that the consent granted to Respondent No.3 is challengeable by way of an Appeal before the National Green Tribunal (alternative remedy).

Ratio / Principle

The Petitioner has the forum of challenging the consent granted to Respondent No.3 to set up the Ready Mix Concrete Plant by way of an Appeal before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Key takeaways

The Court was not inclined to exercise its extra-ordinary discretionary jurisdiction in the facts and circumstances of the case, in view of the available alternative remedy before the NGT.ratio¶4
The Writ Petition is disposed of with liberty to the Petitioner to approach the National Green Tribunal by filing an Appeal.ratio¶4
If the Appeal is filed within a period of one month, the National Green Tribunal shall bear in mind, while dealing with the Petitioner's prayer for condonation of delay, that the Petitioner has been bonafidely prosecuting this Writ Petition.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bombay High Court (Alok Aradhe, CJ. and M.S. Karnik, J.) disposed of Writ Petition No. 19232 of 2024 filed by Loknath Rao Bodipudi, a cardiac patient, aggrieved by the setting up of a Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) Plant adjacent to his house in September 2023 by the Respondents, including Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (Respondent No.1). A show cause notice dated 2nd May 2024 issued by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to Respondent No.3 had yielded no action; during pendency, MPCB officers inspected the site and an affidavit dated 3rd February 2025 of Mr. Manchak Jadhav, Sub-Regional Officer, MPCB, Pimpri Chinchwad, stated that the plant had been set up after statutory compliances. Observing that the Petitioner had the forum of an Appeal before the National Green Tribunal against the consent granted to Respondent No.3, the Court declined to exercise its extra-ordinary discretionary jurisdiction and disposed of the petition with liberty to file such an Appeal, directing that if the Appeal is filed within one month the NGT shall bear in mind the Petitioner's bona fide prosecution of the writ petition while dealing with condonation of delay.

JPP 21. WP 19232.24.doc

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION NO. 19232 OF 2024

Loknath Rao Bodipudi … Petitioner V/s. Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation through the Commissioner and Ors. … Respondents

Ms. Chandni Chawla with Anuya Deokar for the Petitioner Mr. Kedar B. Dighe for Respondent No.1 - PCMC

Mr. Vishwanath Patil with Mr. Kedar Nhavkar for Respondent No.2 - MPCE Mr. R.D. Soni i/b. V.R. Kasle i/b. Ram & Co. for Respondent No.3

CORAM : ALOK ARADHE, CJ. AND M.S. KARNIK, J.

DATE : 25^th MARCH 2025

P.C. :

Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With consent of the

learned Counsel for the parties, the Writ Petition is heard finally.

In this Writ Petition, the Petitioner, who is the cardiac patient, is aggrieved by the action of the Respondents in setting up the Ready-Mix Concrete (RMC) Plant adjacent to the house of the Petitioner in September 2023.

It is the case of the Petitioner that even though a show cause notice dated 2^nd May 2024 was issued by the Maharashtra Pollution Control

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JPP 21. WP 19232.24.doc

Board to Respondent No.3, yet no action was taken against the Petitioner. During the pendency of instant Writ Petition, the Officers of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board have inspected the site and in the affidavit dated 3^rd February 2025, sworn in by one Mr. Manchak Jadhav, Sub-Regional Officer of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board at Pimpri Chinchwad, it has been stated that Ready Mix Concrete Plant has been set up after the statutory compliances. The Petitioner has the forum of challenging the consent granted to Respondent No.3 to set up the Ready Mix Concrete Plant by way of an Appeal before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

We, therefore, are not inclined to exercise our extra-ordinary discretionary jurisdiction in the facts and circumstances of the case. However, the Writ Petition is disposed of with the liberty to the Petitioner to approach the National Green Tribunal by filing an Appeal.

Needless to state that in case an Appeal is filed within a period of one month from today, the National Green Tribunal shall bear in mind the fact that the Petitioner has been bonafidely prosecuting this Writ Petition while dealing with the prayer of the Petitioner for condonation of delay.

With the aforesaid liberty, the Writ Petition is disposed of.

( M.S. KARNIK, J. ) ( CHIEF JUSTICE )

Digitally signed by JYOTI PRAKASH PAWAR Date: 2025.03.25 18:40:37 +0530

JYOTI PRAKASH PAWAR

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