The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Centre for its failure to put on file a letter of the present Chief Justice of India relating to the appointment of the chairman of the National Green Tribunal, which is functioning without its head for a year. “You have placed the record but where is the letter of the present CJI Why you have not placed it when you knew that the matter will be taken up today It’s not acceptable... The manner in which things are going. We don’t know what is happening ,” a bench comprising Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya said. The bench made the remark after going through the file relating to the appointment placed before it by additional solicitor general (ASG) A.S. Chandhiok. The bench was upset that the matter was “lingering” despite the NGT being “without head” for the last one year. “We have our own doubts about the manner in which it is being done. We are not sure when the chairman will be appointed,” the bench said and reminded the ASG about its previous order of May 3 when the Centre had assured the court that things will be completed. “It has not happened and it is very unfortunate,” the court said. On May 3, the Centre had submitted before the court that six expert and four judicial members will be appointed by October 31. However, the court had directed it to complete the process of appointments of the NGT chairman as well as its expert and judicial members by September 15. The court on Thursday asked the Centre to give an undertaking about what time it will come out with the notification on appointment of the chairman and the judicial and expert members for the NGT. The bench said it will take up the matter on December 12 and would like the ASG to take instructions also on the issue of making available accommodation to the chairman and the judicial and expert members as per their previous status. The apex court said if the Centre fails to fulfil the requirements for functioning of the NGT and its benches in other parts of the country, it may give liberty to the high courts for taking up the matter as the working of the tribunal can not be kept in “doldrums.” “We don’t want the work and the appointment of the chairman and the tribunal to be in doldrums,” the bench said.
