The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Rajasthan government to file an affidavit within three weeks in a matter pertaining to pollution from buses operating to the State from Bikaner House near India Gate here.
The apex court ordered that if the State does not file an affidavit in three weeks, all buses originating from or terminating at Bikaner House here will be restrained from operating with effect from April 1.
A Bench comprising Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta observed that a notice was issued to the State earlier but no advocate had appeared on behalf of Rajasthan for the hearing.
“A notice was issued to Rajasthan and the standing counsel but despite service no one has entered appearance. In any case, no one is present today [Monday],” the Bench noted in its order.
The apex court was hearing an application seeking restraining Rajasthan from running passenger buses from Bikaner House here.
The Bench, which fixed the case for hearing on March 26, directed that a copy of its order be sent to standing counsel for the State for compliance.
Public interest litigation
The court is dealing with a public interest litigation filed in 1985 by environmentalist M. C. Mehta, who had raised the issue of air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
Published - March 06, 2018 01:03 am IST