National Green Tribunal
Sanjay Kumar Nayak Aged About 46 Years ... vs 1. State Of Odisha Represented By Chief ... on 25 April, 2025
Item No.05 Court No.1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA
(THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE)
Original Application No.218/2024/EZ
Sanjay Kumar Nayak Applicant(s)
Versus
State of Odisha & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 25.04.2025
Date of uploading: 06.05.2025
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. VIJAY KULKARNI, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant(s) : Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani, Adv. a/w
Mr. Ashutosh Padhy, Adv. (in Virtual Mode)
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Partha Sarathi Nayak, AGA for the
State Respondents (in Virtual Mode),
Mr. Dipanjan Ghosh, Adv. for R-3,
Mr. Sibojyoti Chakrabarti, Adv. for R-4,
Mr. Anand Chandra Swain, Adv. a/w
Mr. Sunshine Anand Swain, Adv. for R-5 (in Virtual Mode),
Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-7
ORDER
1. Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani, assisted by Mr. Ashutosh Padhy, learned Counsel is present (in Virtual Mode) on behalf of the Applicant.
2. Heard learned Counsel for the parties.
(Final order of the said case will be uploaded in NGT website by separate sheets of paper) .....................................
B. Amit Sthalekar, JM .....................................
Dr. Vijay Kulkarni, EM
April 25, 2025,
Original Application No.218/2024/EZ
SKB
1
Item No.05 Court No.1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA
(THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE) Original Application No.218/2024/EZ In the matter of:
Sanjay Kumar Nayak Aged about 46 years, S/o Maheswar Nayak, At/Po - Babanpur, P.S. - Kotinada, Aska, Dist. - Ganjam, Pin - 7761111 .... Applicant(s) Versus
1. State of Odisha Represented by Chief Secretary, Govt. of Odisha, At: Lok Seva Bhawan, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar, Dist.: Khurda, Odisha, Pin - 751001;
2. Director General of Police, Odisha At/Po - Police Headquarters, Bakshi Bazar, City - Cuttack, Pincode - 753001;
3. Member Secretary Odisha State Pollution Control Board, A/118, Unit - VII, Nilakantha Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Pin - 751012 Odisha;
4. Member Secretary Central Pollution Control Board, Parivesh Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi - 110032;
5. Chief Administrator, Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration, At/Po - Grand Road, Puri - 752001;2
6. Special Relief Commissioner, Government of Odisha, At/Po - Ground Floor, Rajib Bhawan, Unit-V, Bhubaneswar, Pin - 751001;
7. Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives At/Po - Office Space-201, 2nd Floor, NSIC-IMDC Building, Dharmapada Bhawan, Plot No.6, Block-D, Mancheswar Industrial Estate, Bhubaneswar - 751010
8. District Magistrate, Puri impleaded vide order Dated 09.01.2025 .... Respondent(s) Date of hearing: 25.04.2025 Date of uploading: 06.05.2025 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON'BLE DR. VIJAY KULKARNI, EXPERT MEMBER For Applicant(s) : Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani, Adv. a/w Mr. Ashutosh Padhy, Adv. (in Virtual Mode) For Respondent(s) : Mr. Partha Sarathi Nayak, AGA for the State Respondents (in Virtual Mode), Mr. Dipanjan Ghosh, Adv. for R-3, Mr. Sibojyoti Chakrabarti, Adv. for R-4, Mr. Anand Chandra Swain, Adv. a/w Mr. Sunshine Anand Swain, Adv. for R-5 (in Virtual Mode), Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-7 ORDER
1. Heard Mr. Sankar Prasad Pani assisted by Mr. Ashutosh Padhy, learned Counsel appearing (in Virtual Mode) for the Applicant.
2. The Applicant in the Original Application is seeking a direction to the Respondents to take steps to prohibit the crackers inter alia during the rituals of Lord Jagannath at Puri.
3. It is stated that when the fireworks burn, Sulphur Dioxide and Nitric Oxide are emitted which stay in the atmosphere for long duration creating health hazards. It is stated that most of the crackers have barium salt in them as one of the products. It is stated that on 29.05.2024 during the Chandan Jatra of Lord 3 Jagannath in Puri a major fire accident occurred due to blast of illegal and banned firecrackers resulting in the death of nearly 15 people and severe injury to 22 others as reported in the Times of India dated 06.06.2024. It is also stated that during Diwali festival 2013, the Air Quality in Bhubaneswar went upto 900 PPM. The allegation further is that the firecracker also causes noise pollution due to high noise decibel. It is also alleged that the Central Pollution Control Board has identified 102 non-attainment cities in the Country, out of which 7 are in Odisha being Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Talcher, Balasore, Kalinganagar and Rourkela but these cities do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).
4. The Deputy Superintendent of Police (Crime), Puri has filed compliance affidavit dated 06.01.2025 wherein it is stated that the incident in question i.e. blasting of firecrackers occurred on 29.05.2024 during the Chandan Jatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri in which 42 persons sustained severe injuries out of which 17 persons succumbed to the injuries and 25 persons were later discharged from hospital and except one person all have recovered from their injuries. It is also stated that the Assistant Sub-
Inspector (ASI) of Police, Kumbharapada lodged FIR before IIC, Kumbharpada Police Station which was registered as Kumbharpada P.S. Case No.181 of 2024 for commission of offence under Section 286/324/226/304/34 IPC read with Section 3, 4, 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and Section 5 of the Orissa Fireworks and Loudspeaker (Regulation) Act, 1958. It is further stated that investigation was initiated immediately and it was established during investigation that injured/accused Chandan 4 Bhoi along with other accused K. Raju Rao and accused Gobinda Nayak procured Explosive Fire Crackers from (1) Prasanta Kumar @ Mitu Nayak, (2) Tuku Ranjan Swain, (3) Jagannath Rout @ Jaga all residents of Village Brahmakhandi, P.S. Charrichhak, Dist. Puri and accused (4) Budhia Bhoi of Village Orapata, P.S. Charichhak, Dist. Puri.
5. It is stated that the Government of Odisha has sanctioned of Rs.4,00,000/- (Rupees Four lakhs only) to the family of each of the deceased persons and have also provided treatment to the injured persons. It is also stated that during investigation, it was revealed that Tuku Ranjan Swain and Prasanta Kumar @ Mitu Nayak are licensed holder for manufacturing and selling of Fancy Crackers; accused Jagannath Rout @ Jaga was manufacturing explosive firecracker for Tuku Ranjan Swain and Budhia Bhoi was manufacturing explosive firecrackers for Prasanta Kumar Nayak @ Mitu Nayak and, therefore, a well-defined case was established against each of the accused persons. It is further stated that the accused Gobinda Nayak was arrested on 05.06.2024 and produced before the learned SDJM, Puri.
6. It is also stated that during the course of treatment, one accused K. Raju Rao succumbed to his injuries and another accused Chandan Bhoi has been discharged from hospital but till date he has not recovered from his injuries as he has sustained 75% burn injuries on his person on account of which he has not been arrested till date. It is also stated that investigation of the case has already been completed and preliminary charge sheet has been submitted on 27.09.2024 vide Charge Sheet No.293 for commission of offences under Section 286/324/326/304/34 IPC read with 5 Section 3, 4, 5 & 6 of Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and Section 5 of the Orissa Fireworks and Loudspeakers (Regulation) Act, 1958 before the SDJM, Puri keeping the investigation open under Section 173 (8) of the Cr.P.C. as one of the principal accused namely Chandan Bhoi has not yet been arrested due to his health conditions.
7. It is stated that the District Collector, Puri, is the licensing authority for issuance of license for manufacturing and selling of fancy crackers and green crackers only and the District Police Administration is ensuring regulation and prevention of illegal cracker manufacturing and selling by conducting regular inspection and raid of all licensees as well as unauthorized manufacturers and sellers. It is stated that in the year 2024, 48 cases were instituted against illegal manufacturers and sellers and the accused have been arrested.
8. The Respondent No.7, Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives has filed counter-affidavit dated 28.01.2025 and it is stated that pursuant to the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 23.10.2018, all official respondents particularly the Police, shall ensure that there is no sale of banned firecrackers and in case any violation is found the Station House Officer (SHO) of the concerned Police Station of the area shall be personally held liable for such violation and this would amount to committing Contempt of Court for which the SHO would be proceeded against. It is also stated that the directions issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in regard to manufacturing of green crackers are being duly complied with by the Licensed Fireworks Manufactures and green crackers are duly certified by NEERI (National Environment 6 Engineering Research Institute) which are being supplied by Licensed Fireworks Manufactures at Sivkasi, Tamil Nadu to the State of Odisha for possession and sale of fireworks.
9. The Respondent No.8, Collector, Puri, has filed affidavit dated 21.02.2025 stating that two O.H.R.C. Cases bearing No.1540 of 2024 and 1604 of 2024 and NHRC Case No.780/18/12/2024 have been instituted and the matter has been duly enquired into by the Superintendent of Police, Puri, CDM & PHO, Puri, Deputy Fire Officer, Puri and Deputy Collector, Emergency, Puri who have submitted their reports dated 28.08.2024, 27.06.2024, 28.06.2024, 28.06.2024 and 20.02.2025.
10. It is stated that Chandan Jatra is a traditional festival of Lord Shree Jagannath which continues for a period of 21 days and in which police arrangement was made considering all aspects of law & order including other probabilities; all concerned S.P., Puri, SDM, Puri, CDM & PHO, Puri, AFO, Puri were intimated about their role, duties and responsibilities in connection with Chandan Jatra; it is stated that briefing was also made by Supervising Officers in respect of areas of duty and proper co-ordination was maintained with Temple Officials involved in the festival. However, on 29.05.2024 some locals namely Chandan Bhoi, Nutan Bhoi, Raju Telenga @ K. Raju Rao and some others brought crackers to Narendra Tank in a trolley rickshaw pulled by Raju from his house at Khandia Bandha, about 250 mtrs. from Dasa Tutha, through Devi Ghat Bridge and stocked the said crackers on the North-West corner of the Narendra Tank without taking permission from the Competent Authority. It is also stated that no one could notice the trolley rickshaw with firecrackers and the police personnel also 7 could not get any information from the public regarding the same; the temple Narendra Tank is located on the South-East corner of the pond, so the police control room, medical team, firefighting units were stationed near the Chandan Temple. It is also stated that at about 10:10 PM the holy 'Chapa' (Canoe) of Lord Jagannath started; Chandan Bhoi and his associates without taking precautionary measures or intimating the police, or Fire Department and without experts for display of fireworks, ignited one shot which lost its direction after ignition and hit the stack of crackers kept at Dasa Tutha. It is further stated that after such misfire all the stacked crackers caught fire and exploded; the police and fire personnel swung into action and rushed to the site and evacuated and rescued the injured from the place of occurrence and carried them to the District Headquarters Hospital, Puri for treatment; 25 Ambulances were immediately arranged with the help of District Administration and a Special Green Corridor was made within the shortest possible time and all injured were shifted to different higher medical institutions. It has been reiterated that in this incident 42 persons sustained burn injuries out of which 30 burn patients were attended at the District Headquarters Hospital, Puri and out of the 30 burn patients, three patients with minor injuries (less than 10%) were kept in the existing burn unit of District Headquarters Hospital, Puri and the rest 27 patients with severe burn injuries were shifted to higher centers in Ambulances; nine patients were attended at their homes by Mobile Health Unit (MHU) on daily basis and now they have recovered; one Clinical Psychologist, District Mental Health Programme, District Headquarters Hospital, Puri had been arranged for their counseling 8 and other psychological support and the Government of Odisha is bearing the full cost of all treatment of the deceased and injured persons. It is further confirmed that the total of 17 persons have died due to the explosion of firecrackers in Chandan Jatra at Narandra Pokhari and out of them 15 deceased persons have been paid ex-gratia amounting to Rs.4,00,000/- (Rupees Four lakhs only) each and in respect of two deceased persons, one is unidentified and, in another case, the Special Relief Commission has been moved for sanction and release of fund. It is stated that some of the deceased have been paid financial assistance out of the Red Cross Fund apart from the ex-gratia assistance; some of the injured persons have been paid Rs.20,000/- (Rupees Twenty thousand only) and Rs.30,000/- (Rupees Thirty thousand only) respectively as financial assistance out of the Red Cross Fund.
11. It is reiterated that P.S. Case No.181 dated 30.05.2024 under Section 286/324/326/304/34 IPC read with Section 3, 4 & 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and Section 5 of the Orissa Fireworks and Loudspeaker (Regulation) Act, 1958 has been registered against the person who committed the offence and in pursuance thereof Tutu Kumar Swain, Prasanta Kumar Nayak, Budhia Bhoi and Jagannath Rout were arrested.
12. The Superintendent of Police, CID, in his affidavit dated 24.02.2025 has stated that the Government of Odisha, Ministry of Forest and Environment vide its letter dated 03.11.2018 issued letter to the Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Home Department, Principal Secretary to Government of Revenue & D.M., Principal Secretary to Government of School & Mass Education Department, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government of 9 Higher Education Department, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government of Information & Public Relations Department, Member Secretary, State Pollution Control Board, Odisha, Bhubaneswar, for generating awareness at all levels including School & Colleges regarding ill effects of fire works through Print Media and Electronic Media in order to prevent use of high decibel sound producing firecrackers during festive occasions. It is stated that the attention notice was also published in the Print Media, The Time of India, The Samaj, The Sambad, The Prameya. It is also stated that Special Relief Commissioner has also issued order dated 03.11.2020 which has been duly communicated to all the District SSPs/SSRPs Rourkela, Cuttack, DCPs Cuttack- Bhubanesar etc. as would also be clear from the notices appended to the affidavit.
13. The Odisha State Pollution Control Board in its affidavit dated 03.02.2025 has stated that Ambient Air Quality parameters like SO2, NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 were monitored by the Respondent- Board continuously from 5th to 19th November, 2023 at 40 locations in 17 towns and cities and from 24th October to 7th November, 2024 at 45 locations in 19 towns and cities in the State of Odisha. We may observe that the State Pollution Control Board has not stated anything with regard to incident that occurred on 29.05.2024 during the Chandan Jatra of Lord Jagannath Puri in which 42 people were injured and 17 persons succumbed to their injuries.
14. The Respondent No.5, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri, in its affidavit dated 06.01.2025 has stated that the Temple Administration permits the use of limited categories of traditional fireworks, namely Chandraudia (Dhapadhapi/Jhuruhjuri) (green 10 crackers) during specific occasions such as Ekadashi, Chandan Yatra and Rukmini Haran Ekadashi based on religious faith and practice. However, it is stated that the fire accident in question has occurred at a location outside the jurisdiction of the Temple Administration and without its authorization but yet the Temple Managing Committee has taken steps to review and regulate the use of fireworks during religious events.
15. The Respondent No.4, Central Pollution Control Board has filed affidavit dated 08.01.2025 stating that in compliance of the directions issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court with regard to firecrackers, it has sent letters to all SPCBs to conduct monitoring and submit data to the Hon'ble Supreme Court from time to time.
16. We have heard learned Counsel for the parties and perused the documents on record.
17. From a perusal of the documents on record, there is no doubt that a major firecracker explosion occurred on 29.05.2024 during the Chandan Jatra of Lord Jagannath, Puri in which 42 persons sustained severe injuries out of which 17 persons succumbed to their injuries.
18. From the affidavit of the Collector, Puri, it is seen that the accused persons including the deceased being among them, brought some crackers to the Narendra Tank in a trolley rickshaw pulled by one Sri Raju from his house at Khandia Bandha about 250 mtrs. from Dasa Tutha through Devi Ghat Bridge and stocked these crackers on the North-West corner of the Narendra Tank without taking permission from the Competent Authority. It is admitted that no one noticed the trolley rickshaw with firecrackers; the police personnel also could not collect any information from the public 11 regarding the same. During the Jatra, Chandan Bhoi and his associates ignited one shot which lost its direction after ignition and hit the stack of crackers kept at Dasa Tutha with the result that all the stacked crackers got lit resulting in a huge explosion. This clearly shows that there was gross dereliction of duty on the part of the District Administration including the Police Authorities. Question is that the incident happened right at the time of the Chandan Jatra on 29.05.2024, the firecrackers were carried by the accused from his house Khandia Bandha through the Devi Ghat Bridge over a distance of 250 mtrs. and stocked the same on the North-West corner of the Narendra Tank and no one in-charge of security even noticed it. It is rather strange that no one even cared to stop the trolley rickshaw or examine the same to ensure that no prohibitive material was being carried therein. The District Administration and the Police Administration cannot be absolved of their negligence in so grave a security lapse. In the instant case, it was stacking of firecrackers but one cannot rule out the possibility that it could have been something even more lethal resulting in a massive explosion causing extensive damage to the Lord Jagannath Temple itself and loss of human life on a large scale.
19. That apart, it cannot be ruled out that some offensive material could have been loaded on the trolley rickshaw and carried in the midst of the Chandan Jatra so as to offend the sensibilities of the devotees and thereby create a riotous situation. Question is: why could the District Administration and Police Administration not anticipate such an eventuality? The Police swinging into action after the occurrence of the incident does not explain the lethargy 12 and total inactivity and the requirement to be vigilant at all times particularly on the occasion of religious functions.
20. We, therefore, dispose of this Original Application with a direction to the Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha, to institute an inquiry into the incident and take appropriate action against those found guilty of gross negligence and lapse in taking proper security steps to prevent the occurrence of the incident in question. For future, it is directed that no explosives of any kind shall be permitted in such religious functions where the swell of the crowd is not just in thousands but in several lakhs and even a small lapse can result in loss of lives of lakhs of people. One cannot rule out that such an incident can even be triggered by ill intentioned and anti-social elements using more lethal explosives other than mere firecrackers.
21. I.As. if any, disposed of accordingly.
22. There shall be no order as to costs.
.....................................
B. Amit Sthalekar, JM .....................................
Dr. Vijay Kulkarni, EM April 25, 2025, Original Application No.218/2024/EZ MN 13