New Delhi, Nov 27: The Supreme Court on Thursday remarked that courts do not have a “magic wand” to resolve Delhi-NCR’s worsening air pollution and that only scientists and domain experts can identify and address the causes behind the capital’s recurring toxic air crisis. “What magic wand can a judicial forum exercise?” a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said while responding to amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who sought an urgent hearing citing the “alarming” air quality levels.
Singh told the court it was a “health emergency” in the region. The Chief Justice said the problems were well known but not attributable to any single source. “Tell me what can we direct… that we make some directions and there is clean air immediately? We all know what the problem is. We need to identify all the reasons. There is no one single reason. It could be a bona fide mistake to think that. Only domain experts and scientists can look into that,” CJI Kant said.
The Bench agreed to take up the matter on Monday, December 1. “Let’s see what we can do,” the CJI added. He also noted that the issue cannot be taken up in a “ceremonial manner” only around Diwali each year and must be monitored on a regular basis.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s AQI bulletin released at 4 p.m. on November 26, Delhi recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 327, falling in the “very poor” category. An AQI between 301 and 400 is considered “very poor”, while readings above 401 fall in the “severe” zone.
The capital has been battling persistently poor air quality for weeks. On Wednesday, CJI Kant said he felt unwell during his morning walk the day before. “The only exercise I do is walking. But even that is difficult now. Yesterday, I walked for 55 minutes, and till morning I had problems,” he said, adding that he was considering shifting Supreme Court hearings to a virtual-only mode, subject to consultation with the Bar.
The court, which has been monitoring the pollution issue for several years, had on November 17 directed the Delhi Government to file an affidavit on equipment used to measure air quality and their efficiency.
