Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station Vs Ashwani Kumar Dubey & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
In the recent judgment of Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station v. Ashwani Kumar Dubey (Civil Appeal No.3856/2022, decided on July 5, 2023), the Supreme Court revisited the principles of natural justice, particularly in relation to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The Court emphasized that the NGT, though a special adjudicatory body, must comply with the same legal standards of natural justice that apply to courts, as outlined in Section 19(1) of the NGT Act. A key aspect of this principle is the “official notice” doctrine, which dictates that when an authority, including the NGT, relies on materials not formally presented in evidence (such as expert reports), it must disclose these materials to the parties involved. This gives the parties an opportunity to challenge, refute, or provide additional context to the data being used. The Court observed that while expert opinions assist in decision-making, they should not form the sole basis for final judgments. In the case at hand, the reliance on an expert committee’s report without giving the parties a chance to respond was deemed improper. The Court stressed that the NGT must provide a reasonable opportunity for the affected parties to present their observations on any expert material before making decisions based on it.
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