Supreme Court - Daily Orders
M.C. Mehta vs Union Of India on 19 November, 2025
ITEM NOS.8 + 12 COURT NO.1 SECTION PIL-W
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 13029/1985
M.C. MEHTA Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. Respondent(s)
(1) NOTE ON BEHALF OF AMICUS CURIAE ON AIR QUALITY MONITORING DATA.
WITH
TRANSFERRED CASE (CIVIL) NO(S). 148/2025 (XVI-A)
Date : 19-11-2025 These matters were called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. VINOD CHANDRAN
Amicus Curiae
Ms. Aparajita Singh, Sr. Advocate (A.C.)
Ms. Uttara Babbar, Sr. Advocate (A.C.)
Ms. Shibani Ghosh, Advocate (A.C.)
Mr. Harish N. Salve, Sr. Advocate (A.C.) (N.P.)
Mr. A.D.N. Rao, Sr. Advocate (A.C.) (N.P.)
Mr. Siddhartha Chowdhury, Advocate (A.C.)
For Petitioner(s) : Applicant-in-person
Petitioner-in-person
For Respondent(s) :
Mr. G.S. Makker, AOR
Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR
Mr. M.K. Maroria, AOR
Mr. Sanjay Kr. Visen, AOR
Mr. Sudeep Kumar, AOR
Mr. Karan Sharma, AOR
Signature Not Verified
Mr. Sandeep Kr. Jha,
Digitally signed by
NARENDRA PRASAD
Date: 2025.11.22
Mr. Jyoti Mendiratta, AOR
12:22:03 IST
Reason: Mr. Rahul Khurana, AOR
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Mr. P. K. Jain, AOR
Mr. Ramesh Babu M. R., AOR
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Chaurasia, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR
Ms. Suhasini Sen, Adv.
Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Adv.
Mr. Chitvan Singhal, Adv.
Ms. Neelakshi Bhadouria, Adv.
Mr. Rohan Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Alok Gupta, AOR
Mr. Pramod Dayal, AOR
Mr. R. P. Gupta, AOR
Mr. P. Parmeswaran, AOR
Mr. Mohit D. Ram, AOR
Mr. Rakesh Kumar-i, AOR
Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR
M/S. M. V. Kini & Associates, AOR
Mr. Pavan Kumar, AOR
Ms. Neelam, Adv.
Mr. Akhlesh Kr. Soni, Adv.
Mr. Nayeem Hasan Raza, Adv.
Mr. Parijat Sinha, AOR
M/S. Saharya & Co., AOR
Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR
M/S. S. Narain & Co., AOR
Mr. Chirag M. Shroff, AOR
Mr. E. C. Agrawala, AOR
Mr. Praveen Swarup, AOR
Ms. Menaka Guruswamy, Sr. Adv.
Mr. S Wasim A Qadri, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Praveen Swarup, Adv.
Mr. Ajay Bansal, Adv.
Mr. Devesh Maurya, Adv.
Mr. Rohit Swarup, Adv.
Mr. Sukhamrit Singh, Adv.
Ms. Mini Gangadharan, Adv.
Mr. Prashant Kumar, AOR
Mr. Tushar Mehta Ld, Solicitor General
Mrs. Aishwarya Bhati Ld, A.S.G.
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Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Jagdish Chandra, Adv.
Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv.
Ms. Suhashini Sen, Adv.
Mr. Aman Mehta, Adv.
Mr. Lokesh Sinhal, Sr. A.A.G.
Mr. B.k. Satija, A.A.G.
Mr. Rakesh Kumar Mudgal, A.A.G.
Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, AOR
Mr. Rahul Khurana, Adv.
Mr. Nikunj Gupta, Adv.
Ms. Ishika Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Sarthak Arya, Adv.
Ms. Drishti Rawal, Adv.
Mr. Sarthak Shrivastava, Adv.
Mr. Mayur Goyal, Adv.
Ms. Seema Sindhu, Adv.
Ms. Richa Verma, Adv.
Mr. Ravi Vashisht, Adv.
Mr. Abhay Nair, Adv.
Mr. Radha Shyam Jena, AOR
Ms. Hemantika Wahi, AOR
Ms. Binu Tamta, AOR
Mr. Ajit Pudussery, AOR
Mr. Shiv Vinayak Gupta, Adv.
Mrs. Bina Gupta, AOR
Ms. Anushka Rawal, Adv.
Ms. Kritika Singh, Adv.
Mr. Ashok Mathur, AOR
Mr. V. K. Verma, AOR
Mr. Anil Kumar Jha, AOR
Mr. Mukesh K. Giri, AOR
Mr. Rakesh K. Sharma, AOR
Ms. Sujeeta Srivastava, AOR
Mrs. Anil Katiyar, AOR
M/S. Parekh & Co., AOR
Mr. Sudhir Mendiratta, AOR
Mr. Sushil Kumar Singh, AOR
Mr. Hardeep Singh Anand, AOR
Mr. Sandeep Narain, AOR
Mr. Nishe Rajen Shonker, AOR
Mrs. Anu K Joy, Adv.
Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv.
Mr. Santhosh K, Adv.
Mrs. Devika A.l., Adv.
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Ms. Nandini Gidwaney, AOR
Mrs. Rani Chhabra, AOR
Mr. G. Prakash, AOR
Mr. K. R. Sasiprabhu, AOR
Mr. Shri Narain, AOR
Mr. Umesh Kumar Khaitan, AOR
Ms. Shalini Kaul, AOR
Ms. Manjula Gupta, AOR
Mrs. K. Sarada Devi, AOR
Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, AOR
Mrs. Priya Puri, AOR
M/S. Khaitan & Co., AOR
Mr. T. V. Ratnam, AOR
Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, AOR
Mr. Pradeep Rai, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Dwivedi, AOR
Mr. Vishal, Adv.
Mrs. Subhadra Dwivedi, Adv.
Mr. Ravindra Bana, AOR
Mr. S. S. Shroff, AOR
Mr. Sushil Kumar Jain, AOR
Mr. Aniruddha Deshmukh, AOR
Mr. Sarvam Ritam Khare, AOR
Mr. Kushagra Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Akarsh Khare, Adv.
Mr. Surya Kant, AOR
Mrs. B. Sunita Rao, AOR
Mr. Abhishek, AOR
Ms. Pritha Srikumar Iyer, AOR
Mr. Rajan Narain, AOR
Gaurav, AOR
Mr. T. R. B. Sivakumar, AOR
Mr. Mohit Paul, AOR
Mr. Nischal Kumar Neeraj, AOR
Mr. Vishal Mudgal, Adv.
Mr. Amod Kumar Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Shafiq Khan, Adv.
Mr. Jatin Rana, Adv.
Ms. Reema Roy, Adv.
Ms. Neelima Bagoria, Adv.
Ms. Anjani Suri, Adv.
Ms. Banisha Verma, Adv.
Mrs. Raj Rani, Adv.
Mrs. Smerity Rani, Adv.
Mrs. Sabika Ahmad, Adv.
Ms. Lakshmi, Adv.
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Mr. Deependra Kumar Pathak, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar, Adv.
Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR
Mr. Deepak Singh, Adv.
Mr. Shishir Kumar Jha, Adv.
Ms. Priyal Sheth, Adv.
Ms. Ankita Sharma, AOR
Mr. Arjun D. Singh, Adv.
Ms. Ishika Neogi, Adv.
Mr. Kumar Dushyant Singh, AOR
Mr. A. Venayagam Balan, AOR
Mr. Balraj Singh Malik, Adv.
Dr. Pratap Singh Nerwal, AOR
Ms. Jaikriti S. Jadeja, AOR
Ms. Astha Tyagi, AOR
Mr. Sandeep Kumar Jha, AOR
M/S. M. V. Kini & Associates, AOR
Ms. Manju Jetley, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Mr. Chitransh Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Chitvan Singhal, Adv.
Ms. Chitrangda Rashtravara, Adv.
Mr. Kanu Agrawal, Adv.
Ms. Shivika Mehra, Adv.
Mr. Madhav Sinhal, Adv.
Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma-aor, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Kr. Singh, Adv.
Ms. Suhasini Sen, Adv.
Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv.
Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR
Mr. Nishit Agrawal, AOR
Mr. Raghvendra Kumar, AOR
Mr. Anando Mukherjee, AOR
Ms. Sanjivani Aggarwal, Adv.
Ms. Jyoti Aggarwal, Adv.
Mr. Pradeep Shekhawat, Adv.
Ms. Filza Moonis, AOR
Mr. Divyanshu Kumar Srivastava, AOR
Mr. Shivam Nagpal, Adv.
Mr. Adarsh Tripathi , AOR
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Mr. S. S. Shroff, AOR
Ms. Madhumita Bhattacharjee, AOR
Ms. Debarati Sadhu, Adv.
Mr. Anant, Adv.
Mr. Dhruv Bhalla, Adv.
Mr. B. Jagat Nayan, Adv.
Mr. Ayush Sharma, AOR
Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR
Mr. Nand Kishore Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Ankit Agrawal, Adv.
Mr. Paras Bajpai, Adv.
Mr. Pradeep Misra, AOR
Mr. Daleep Dhyani, Adv.
Mr. Suraj Singh, Adv.
Mr. Manish Kumar, AOR
Mr. Divyansh Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Kumar Saurav, Adv.
Mr. Harsh V. Surana, AOR
Mr. Joydip Roy, A.A.G.
Mr. Veer Vikrant, D.A.G.
Mr. Yashraj Singh Bundela, AOR
Mrs. Pratima Singh, Adv.
Mr. Arpit Garg, Adv.
Mr. Pulkit Agarwal, AOR
Mr. Satish Kumar, AOR
Mr. S S Bandyopadhyay, Adv.
Mr. Syed Miran Ahmad, Adv.
Mr. Abhaya Nath Das, Adv.
Mr. Om Prakash Sapra, Adv.
Mr. Raj Kumar Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Chandan Kumar Pandey, Adv.
Mr. Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Adv.
Ms. Monica Goel, Adv.
Ms. Sitara Yadav, Adv.
Ms. Swagoti Batchas, Adv.
Mr. Bhupendra Pathak, Adv.
Mrs. Barnali Basak, Adv.
Mr. Nitin Prabhakar, Adv.
Mr. Vinod Kumar Shukla, Adv.
Mr. Kishor Kumar Mishra, Adv.
Dr. Aditya Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Prashant Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Boya Kranthi Naidu, Adv.
6
Ms. Ameyavikrama Thanvi , AOR
Miss Aanchal Jain, AOR
Mr. Rajiv Yadav, AOR
Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR
Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv.
Ms. Chubalemla Chang, Adv.
Mr. Prang Newmai, Adv.
Ms. Yanmi Phazang, Adv.
Mr. Anas Tanwir, AOR
Ms. Puja Sharma, AOR
Mr. Shishir Deshpande, AOR
Mr. D.kumanan, AOR
Ms. Jyoti Mendiratta, AOR
Ms. Ananya Basudha, Adv.
Ms. Rakhi Ray, AOR
Ms. Ishita Jain , AOR
Mr. Manish Kumar Gupta, AOR
Mr. Sravan Kumar Karanam, AOR
Ms. G. Sushmita, Adv.
Mr. Santosh Kumar Yadav, Adv.
Mr. Vinayak Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Ravinder Kumar Yadav, AOR
Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Srishti Mishra, Adv.
Ms. Jasneet Kaur, Adv.
Mr. Sumeet Mishra, Adv.
Mr. R. C. Kohli, AOR
Mr. Rishi Matoliya, AOR
Mr. Anurag Kishore, AOR
Ms. Mayuri Raghuvanshi, AOR
Mr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, AOR
Ms. Pritha Srikumar Iyer, AOR
Ms. Rooh-e-hina Dua, AOR
Ms. Vrinda Bhandari, AOR
Ms. Charu Mathur, AOR
Mr. Shrirang B. Varma, Adv.
Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv.
Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, AOR
Mr. Kailash Prashad Pandey, AOR
Mr. Varun Varma, Adv.
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Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Chawla, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Singh, Adv.
Mr. Sandeep Singh Dingra, Adv.
Mr. Supriya, Adv.
Mr. Saurabh Kumar Solanki, Adv.
Ms. Manisha Chawla, Adv.
Ms. Shreya Jha, Adv.
Ms. Swati Vishan, Adv.
Mr. Shubham Rajhans, Adv.
Mr. Ishank Ranjan, Adv.
Mr. Prakhar Shukla, Adv.
Mr. Chaman Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Narendra Pal Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Javed Raza, Adv.
Mr. Hardeep, Adv.
Mr. Avnish Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Devendra Kumar Mishra, Adv.
Ms. Laveena Tak, Adv.
Mr. Anupam Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Lalit Dixit, Adv.
Mr. M. P. Devanath, AOR
Mr. Sameer Shrivastava, AOR
Ms. Nidhi Mohan Parashar, AOR
Mr. Kuldip Singh, AOR
Ms. Anushree Prashit Kapadia, AOR
Ms. Purnima Jauhari, AOR
Dr. Brij Bhushan K Jauhari, Adv.
Mr. Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal, Adv.
Mr. Arun Chandta Srivastava, Adv.
Mr. O P Singh, Adv.
Mr. Harsh Mahan, Adv.
Ms. Sudha Pal, Adv.
Mr. Danish Zubair Khan, AOR
Mr. Vikas Mehta, AOR
Mr. Varun Singh, Adv.
Ms. Kajal S Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Mudit Gupta, AOR
Ms. K. V. Bharathi Upadhyaya, AOR
Ms. Pritama, Adv.
Ms. Shaivani Gupta, Adv.
Dr. Sunita, Adv.
Ms. D Poornima, Adv.
Mr. Sufyan Hasan, Adv.
Ms. Hema Malik, Adv.
8
Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Pn Yadav, Adv.
Mr. Rahul Dubey, Adv.
Mrs. Pragya Singh, Adv.
Mr. Sunny Singh, Adv.
Mr. Akshay Singh, Adv.
Mr. Shantwanu Singh, AOR
Mr. Pranav Sachdeva, AOR
Mr. Debojit Borkakati, AOR
Mr. Vikrant Singh Bais, AOR
Ms. Manali Singhal, Adv.
Ms. Diksha Rai, AOR
Ms. Aanchal Kapoor, Adv.
Mr. Ketan Paul, AOR
Mr. Hiren Dasan, AOR
Mr. Ajay Vikram Singh, AOR
Mrs. Priyanka Singh, Adv.
Mr. M Aamir Faiyaz, Adv.
Ms. Anushka Rajora, Adv.
Mr. Abhishek Saket, Adv.
Mr. Sudeep Kumar, AOR
Ms. Manisha, Adv.
Ms. Rupali, Adv.
Mr. Niraj Gupta, AOR
Ms. Anshu Gupta, Adv.
Ms. Siddhi Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Shubham Gupta, Adv.
Ms. Shibani Ghosh, AOR
Mr. Tarun Gupta, AOR
Ms. Surabhi Sanchita, AOR
Mr. Vinod Sharma, AOR
M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR
Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.
Mrs. Harini Ram Sankar, Adv.
Mr. P. Parmeswaran, AOR
Mr. Durga Dutt, AOR
Mr. Soumya Dutta, AOR
M/S. Ram Sankar & Co, AOR
Dr. Ram Sankar, Adv.
Mrs. Harini Ram Sankar, Adv.
Ms. Malvika Kapila, AOR
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Mr. K. Paari Vendhan, AOR
Mr. Rahul Mehra, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Vivek Jain, A.A.G.
Mr. Karan Sharma, AOR
Mr. Varun Singh, Adv.
Ms. Kajal S Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Mudit Gupta, AOR
Mr. Kawaljit Singh Bhatia, AOR
Mr. Vivek Gupta, AOR
Mr. Vinay Garg, AOR
Ms. G. Indira, AOR
Mr. Prakash Ranjan Nayak, AOR
Mrs. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav, AOR
Mr. Ashok Kumar B, Adv.
Mrs. Chitrangda Rastravara, Adv.
Ms. Shivika Mehra, Adv.
Mr. Udit Dedhiya, Adv.
Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR
Sameer Kumar, AOR
Mr. Ajay Pal, AOR
Mr. Gaurav Kejriwal, AOR
Mr. Sameer Abhyankar, AOR
Mr. Rahul Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Aakash Thakur, Adv.
Mr. Krishna Rastogi, Adv.
Ms. Ripul Swati Kumari, Adv.
Mr. Shankey Agrawal, AOR
Mr. Ankit Roy , AOR
Ms. Surbhi Mehta, AOR
Mr. Shovan Mishra, AOR
Ms. G. Indira, AOR
Mr. Aakarshan Aditya, AOR
Mr. Nitin Saluja, AOR
Mr. Nirnimesh Dube, AOR
Ms. Rashmi Malhotra, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR
Ms. Suhasini Sen, Adv.
Ms. Ruchi Kohli, Adv.
Mr. Chitvan Singhal, Adv.
Ms. Neelakshi Bhadouria, Adv.
Mr. Rohan Gupta, Adv.
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Mr. Dhananjaya Mishra, AOR
Mr. Rahul Khurana, AOR
Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Ms. Suhasini Sain, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Kr. Singh, Adv.
Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv.
Mr. Shubhranshu Padhi, Adv.
Mr. Sudarshan Lamba, AOR
Mr. Mukesh Verma, Adv.
Mrs. Vatsala Tripathi, Adv.
Ms. Manisha, Adv.
Mr. Krishna Prakash Dubay, Adv.
Mr. Yash Pal Dhingra, AOR
Mr. Ashutosh Dubey, AOR
Mr. Chandra Prakash, AOR
Mr. Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, AOR
Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR
Mr. Deepayan Mandal, AOR
Mr. Ravindra S. Garia, AOR
Mr. Gaurav Choudhary, AOR
Mr. Ravindra Kumar, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Binay Kumar Das, AOR
Ms. Priyanka Das, Adv.
Ms. Neha Das, Adv.
Mr. Shivam Saksena, Adv.
Mr. Aravindh S., AOR
Ms. Jyotika Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Meenakshi Chauhan, AOR
M/S. Karanjawala & Co., AOR
Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR
Ms. Charu Ambwani, AOR
Mr. Subhro Sanyal, AOR
Mr. Vinodh Kanna B., AOR
Mr. Prasanna S., AOR
Ms. Shalu Sharma, AOR
Mr. Sahil Tagotra, AOR
Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR
Mr. Guntur Pramod Kumar, AOR
Mr. Rishi Sehgal, AOR
Mr. Kunal Mimani, AOR
Ms. Afsha Hakim, Adv.
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Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR
Mr. Deepayan Dutta, Adv.
Mr. Saurabh Tripathi, Adv.
Ms. Divya Jyoti Singh, AOR
Mr. Yoginder Handoo, AOR
Ms. Misha Rohatgi, AOR
Mr. Nakul Mohta, Adv.
Mr. Amulya Upadhyay, Adv.
Mr. Ayush Kahsyap, Adv.
Mr. Sandeep Singh, AOR
Ms. Mithu Jain, AOR
Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair, AOR
Mr. Akhil Anand, AOR
Mrs. Prerna Dhall, Adv.
Mr. Ambuj Swaroop, Adv.
Mr. Kapil Katare, Adv.
Ms. Rajnandani Kumari, Adv.
Mr. Prashant Singh, AOR
Ms. Minakshi Pandey, Adv.
Ms. Shyel Trehan, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Chirayu Jain, Adv.
Mr. Rohan Poddar, Adv.
Mr. Tanishqua Dhar, Adv.
Mr. Shivendra Singh, AOR
Ms. Prakriti Rastogi, Adv.
Ms. Aryama Singh Rajput, Adv.
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, AOR
M/S. Meharia & Company, AOR
Ms. Tulika Mukherjee, AOR
Mr. Kumar Anurag Singh, Adv.
Mr. Zain A. Khan, Adv.
Mr. Dev Aaryan, Adv.
Mr. Akshay Girish Ringe, AOR
Mr. Anuj Bhandari, AOR
Mr. Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G.
Mr. Saurabh Rajpal, Adv.
Ms. Shalini Singh, Adv.
Ms. Awanitika, Adv.
Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, AOR
Mr. Ravi Prakash, AOR
Ms. N. Annapoorani, AOR
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Mr. S. Gowthaman, AOR
M/S. Ahmadi Law Offices, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Suhashini Sen, Adv.
Rajesh Kr.singh, Adv.
Subhranshu Padhi, Adv.
Gaurang Bhushan, Adv.
Raghav Sharma, Adv.
Jagdish Chandra, Adv.
Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR
Ms. Vanya Gupta , AOR
Ms. Kajal Dalal, AOR
Mr. Ashish Pandey, AOR
Mr. Shubham Saxena, Adv.
Mr. Prateek Rai, Adv.
Mr. Ashutosh Bhardwaj, Adv.
Mr. Anmol Goyal, Adv.
Mr. Piyush Merani, Adv.
Ms. Mili Tomar, Adv.
Ms. Sakshi Kakkar, AOR
Ms. Shagun Matta, AOR
Mr. Vinay Garg, AOR
Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR
Mr. Rakesh Kumar-i, AOR
Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR
Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv.
Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.
Mr. Vikrant Singh Bais, AOR
Ms. Neeru Vaid, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G.
Ms. Kanu Agrawal, Adv.
Mr. Bhuvan Kapoor, Adv.
Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv.
Mr. Krishna Kant Dubey, Adv.
Ms. Indira Bhakar, Adv.
Santosh Ramdurg, Adv.
Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AOR
Mr. Saurabh Agrawal, AOR
Mr. Devansh Srivastava, AOR
Mr. Luv Virmani, AOR
Ms. Divya Roy, AOR
M/S. S. Narain & Co., AOR
Ms. Aswathi M.k., AOR
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Mr. Neeraj Shekhar, AOR
Mr. Rajesh Maurya, Adv.
Mrs. Kshama Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Alankrit Singh, Adv.
Mr. Kanishak Saini, Adv.
Ms. Lubna Naaz, AOR
Mr. Parminder Singh Bhullar, AOR
M/S. Mukesh Kumar Singh And Co., AOR
Mr. Narendra Kumar Goyal, Adv.
Mr. Mukesh Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. C.m. Dwivedi, Adv.
Mr. Jeetendra Kumar, Adv.
Ms. Komal Singh, Adv.
Ms. Kajal Rani, Adv.
Mr. Kadam Hans, Adv.
Mr. Savyasachi Dubey, Adv.
Mr. Naveen Yadav, Adv.
Mr. Alok Gupta, AOR
Mr. K. V. Mohan, AOR
Mr. Yash S. Vijay, AOR
Mr. Debdeep Banerjee, Adv.
M/s Lex Regis Law Offices, AOR
Miss Kanika Singhal, AOR
Mr. Shekhar Kumar, AOR
Mr. Chritrarth Palli,Adv.
Mr. Gauravjit Patwalia,Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel, the Court made the following
O R D E R
ISSUE REGARDING AIR QUALITY IN DELHI
1. In pursuance to our order dated 17.11.2025, Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, learned Additional Solicitor General of India (ASG) informs the Court that a meeting was convened by the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC) and it was attended by the senior officers from all the concerned States including the Chief Secretaries of the States of Uttar Pradesh, 14 Haryana, Punjab, the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and the Additional Chief Secretary of the State of Rajasthan. Additionally, the Chairpersons of Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) were also present for the said meeting, which was conducted on 18.11.2025.
2. Learned ASG has placed a note showing various short-term and long-term measures, which are being implemented to control the pollution. The same is taken on record.
3. Ms. Aprajita Singh, learned Amicus Curiae has raised a concern that though, in principle, there are measures in place, the reality on ground shows that such measures have not been effectively executed to reduce pollution. She therefore submits that the issue lies in the implementation of the measures adopted.
4. She has also raised an issue with regard to non-filling of the vacancies in the Pollution Control Boards across the State.
5. Ms. Shyel Trehan, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the Association of Construction Workers working in all the National Capital Region (NCR) States submits that though almost a week has passed after the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)- 3 regulations have been brought into force, subsistence allowance has not yet been paid to the workers.
6. In our order dated 17.11.2025 we had already expressed a concern that on account of ban on construction activities, the labourers who depend on the same are deprived of their livelihood. However, we are informed that the States are enjoined to pay subsistence allowance to them.
15
7. We, therefore, direct all the States falling within the NCR region to take instructions with regard to payment of subsistence allowance and to inform the Court about the same on the next date.
8. Insofar as implementation of the various measures is concerned, we are of the view that it will be appropriate that this court, rather than pressing the matter when the pollution is at its peak, should regularly monitor the same so that the implementation of preventive measures and review of the same can be done periodically.
9. We, therefore, find that it would be appropriate that the matter is listed on a monthly basis, wherein the Action Taken Reports of the MOEF&CC, CAQM and the various States are reviewed by this Court regularly.
10. Ms. Bhati, learned ASG has also handed over a note on behalf of CAQM, which is taken on record. As per the said note, the CAQM proposes to put some of the activities prohibited under GRAP-3 to GRAP-1/GRAP-2 period.
11. We are of the considered view that any pro-active action by the CAQM aimed at reducing the air pollution level would always be welcome. However, we expect from the CAQM that while taking such a decision, they must consider all the factors and take the various stakeholders on board. Subject to above, the suggestions of CAQM in the note mentioned above are accepted.
12. The notes submitted on behalf of both MOEF&CC and CAQM are directed to be placed on record.
13. The learned Amicus Curiae has also raised a concern over most of the schools in the NCR Region having their sports 16 events/competitions in the months of November and December, which is the period during which the air quality deteriorates sharply, and the Air Quality Index (AQI) is poor/severe. It is further submitted that this would amount to virtually putting the school going children in a “gas chamber”.
14. We, therefore, request the CAQM to take into consideration this aspect of the matter and issue necessary directions to the concerned States so that the sports events/competitions/activities could be shifted to safer months.
15. List the matter on 10.12.2025.
16. Since one of us (B.R. Gavai, Chief Justice of India) is sitting in the proceedings in W.P.(C) NO.13029/1985 for the last time, we place on record our deep appreciation for Ms. Aprajita Singh, Ms. Uttra Babbar and Ms. Shibani Ghosh, learned Amicus Curiae in assisting this Court for a long period of time and ensuring that the environmental issues with regard to pollution are addressed by this Court. Without their valuable assistance, this Court could not have discharged its duties in the manner in which the Constitution mandates.
17. We also place on record our deep appreciation for Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, learned ASG for not treating this an adversarial litigation and assisting the Court in passing pro-active orders.
TRANSFERRED CASE (CIVIL) NO(S). 148/2025 1. As per the order dated 17.11.2025 passed by this Court,
proceedings which were pending before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana (C.W.P. No.24772/2023) were transferred to this Court and 17 the same is registered as Transferred Case No.148/2025.
2. The State of Punjab as well as the Union of India are on same page that the order of interim stay passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana is detrimental to the measures taken for the reduction of pollution in the State of Punjab.
3. By the order passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dated 06.11.2025, the High Court had stayed the notification issued by the State of Punjab directing use of paddy straw pallets as a fuel in Brick Kilns.
4. Nobody can dispute that the emission from paddy straw pallets is much lower as compared to the emission from coal, which is being used on account of the interim order passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
5. We, accordingly, stay the order passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana dated 06.11.2025.
6. Learned counsel for the petitioner in C.W.P. No.2472 of 2023 submits that the members of Paddy Straw Pallets Manufacturers Association purchase the straw pallets from the farmers at the rate of Rs.1/- to Rs.2/-. However, it is later sold to the deep cleaning manufacturers at an exorbitant rate of Rs.12/- to Rs.13/-.
7. We permit the petitioners to make a representation to the State Government in that regard.
8. If the State Government finds that by virtue of monopolization of sale of the paddy straw pallets by one association, the members of the Brick Kiln Association are being prejudiced, the State would, accordingly, consider taking appropriate action on such representation.
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9. To be taken up along with W.P.(C) No.13029/1985 (with the issue relating to Air Quality).
(NARENDRA PRASAD) (ANJU KAPOOR)
DEPUTY REGISTRAR ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
Encl: Notes, as above, are enclosed.
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