State of Andhra Pradesh Vs Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru (M.P.) (Supreme Court of India)
Summary:The Supreme Court considered appeals against orders dated 6th May 2022 and 20th May 2022 passed by the National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi in O.A. No.361 of 2021 and I.A. Nos.117 and 118 of 2022. The dispute concerned construction of a resort at Rushikonda Hill near Visakhapatnam. A writ petition concerning the construction was already pending before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati, which had passed an interim order on 16th December 2021 permitting construction and allied activities subject to compliance with the permission granted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the existing master plan. The NGT subsequently initiated proceedings on the basis of a letter and prohibited further construction. Although an Experts Committee appointed by the NGT had not found any violation, a second Experts Committee was appointed and its report was awaited. The Supreme Court held that the NGT should not have continued proceedings when the High Court was already seized of the same cause of action and had passed an interim order. It held that conflicting orders would create an anomalous situation and that orders of constitutional courts would prevail over those of statutory tribunals. The Supreme Court quashed and set aside the NGT proceedings, directed the parties to approach the High Court, permitted the respondent to seek impleadment there, and restricted construction pending a fresh decision by the High Court.
