SC blasts Centre over stubble burning

A farmer burns straw stubble after harvest in Amritsar. Pic/PTI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre for making the environment protection law "toothless" and said the provision under the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act which deals with penalty for stubble burning was not being implemented.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanulllah and Augustine George Masih said the CAQM Act of 2021 was enacted without creating required machinery for implementing the provision to curb air pollution.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said section 15 of the CAQM Act, which deals with penalty for stubble burning, will be implemented effectively as regulations for it will be issued in 10 days. She submitted that an adjudicating officer will be appointed and all necessary actions will be taken to enforce the law effectively. Bhati pointed out that the CAQM has issued notices to senior administrative officials of Punjab and Haryana besides officials of the state pollution control boards and sought their response as to why action should not be taken against them.

Marital rape pleas: SC defers hearing

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday deferred by four weeks hearing on pleas challenging the immunity granted to husbands in cases of marital rape. A bench comprising the CJI and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, which commenced final hearing on October 17 on the pleas, asked lawyers about the time they would be needing individually to argue.

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