The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday issued a series of significant rulings involving prominent Rajya Sabha members, granting legal protection to both Sandeep Pathak and Rajinder Gupta amid escalating legal and political friction.
In a plea filed by Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak, the court directed that no coercive steps be taken against him without its permission until Monday. Pathak had moved the court demanding details about purported FIRs registered against him in Punjab, while the state’s counsel maintained they had no information regarding such FIRs.
Simultaneously, the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry provided substantial relief to the Trident Group, founded by Gupta, by directing the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to provide a 30-day notice period before taking any coercive measures.
Disposing of a plea filed by the group’s managing director, Deepak Nanda, the court ruled that since the PPCB failed to demonstrate an emergency environmental threat or the presence of poisonous effluents, the company must be granted a reasonable opportunity to rectify any minor deficiencies.
The court also directed the state of Punjab to ensure the security of Gupta and his family after he challenged the withdrawal of his security cover by Punjab Police.
The legal battle follows a PPCB raid on the group’s Barnala unit on April 30, occurring just days after Gupta resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the BJP. Gupta, a prominent industrialist with a net worth exceeding ₹10,600 crore, was among seven AAP MPs who defected on April 24.
In its petition, the company termed the sudden PPCB inspection arbitrary and malafide, arguing that the timing pointed to extraneous and political considerations linked to Gupta’s change in political affiliation.
Senior advocate Munisha Gandhi, representing the group, alleged procedural irregularities during the sample collection and argued that the sudden shift in regulatory approach within a month of a clean inspection on April 13 suggested a vendetta.
While the PPCB, represented by senior advocate DS Patwalia, dismissed the allegations as a figment of imagination and maintained that the visit was a routine statutory inspection, the court opted to mandate a notice period to ensure due process.
The bench concluded that in the absence of an immediate environmental crisis, the PPCB must afford the petitioner 30 days to address any findings before initiating closure or other coercive steps. A detailed written order is awaited following the judgment delivered on Friday morning.
www.hindustantimes.com
#shields #members #Pathak #Gupta #stays #coercive #action #Trident #Group
