Chandigarh, 16 October, 2024: The Supreme Court on Wednesday criticized the Punjab and Haryana governments for failing to prosecute those responsible for stubble burning, ordering the chief secretaries to appear in person on October 23 to explain their actions.
“We are giving you one week,” stated the bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih during a hearing on Delhi’s air pollution, which the court called a “serious” issue.
The court also rebuked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), calling it a “toothless tiger,” and directed it to take punitive action against officials from Haryana and Punjab for not prosecuting offenders.
The bench asked, “Where is the enforcement?” as it questioned CAQM on steps taken to address stubble burning and ensure state compliance. “This is not a political matter,” the court stressed.
Warning that it would issue summons if chief secretaries acted under external influence, the bench added, “Next Wednesday, we are going to physically call the chief secretary to explain everything.” The court noted that in the past three years, no prosecutions had been carried out in Punjab, accusing both states of “complete defiance.”
