Deprecating the conduct of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board chairman Vijaykumar Gogi, the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday observed orally that he should not be continued in the post if he does not understand law and he deserves to be “suspended” for not initiating criminal prosecution in case of a violation of noise pollution rules.
The court directed Mr. Gogi, an Indian Forest Service officer and also Principal Secretary, Department of Ecology and Environment, to explain why he has not launched criminal prosecution against a mosque for violation of noise pollution rules and how can he decide whether the violation under the law was “not prosecutable offence”.
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A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty found that the chairman, despite noticing that a mosque at Vijayanagar grossly violated rules by using loudspeaker during night, has boldly stated that “it is not prosecutable offence” and chose not to initiate criminal prosecution as per the law by stating that it is for the police to take action.
Even after the court, on several instances earlier, pointed out the powers vested with the officers of the KSPCB to initiate criminal prosecution against violators of noise pollution laws, the chairman has taken a bold stand that “it is not a prosecutable offence”, the Bench noted in the order. The Bench also pointed out that a notification issued by the Union government in 1987 authorised designated officers of pollution control boards to launch criminal prosecution against violators.
Observing that the chairman of the KSPCB cannot usurp the functions of the courts on whether an offence is prosecutable or not, the Bench directed him to explain what is a “prosecutable” offence, while orally observing that “we want to learn from him what is a prosecutable offence”.
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City-based advocate Sumangala A. Swamy, 65, said that the mosque was still blatantly using loudspeakers during dark hours even after cancellation of licence, issued illegally by the jurisdictional police, after intervention of the court.