The National Green Tribunal (NGT) reserved its decision regarding a petition requesting the transfer of a case from a Bench led by Justice Sudhir Agarwal, citing concerns of possible bias and delays in proceedings.

A Bench comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Dr. Afroz Ahmad reserved its decision on the plea seeking the transfer of the case to an NGT Bench that excludes Justice Agarwal. The order is set to be pronounced on September 20.

The plea, filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal in a case concerning water pollution in Ludhiana, raised concerns over the appointment of advocate Gaurav Agarwal, son of Justice Sudhir Agarwal, as amicus curiae in several NGT cases, despite his limited practice before the Tribunal. Bansal's application emphasized that Gaurav Agarwal lacks substantial experience in environmental law and questioned why Justice Sudhir Agarwal did not recuse himself from cases where his son was involved.

In addition to concerns about potential bias, the application also pointed to delays in court proceedings caused by Justice Agarwal's late arrivals to hearings. It alleged that hearings often start well after the scheduled time of 10:30 a.m., disrupting the effective functioning of the Tribunal. Despite complaints to NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava regarding the delays, no corrective actions have been taken.

The application called for the transfer of Bansal's case to a different Bench, excluding Justice Sudhir Agarwal, to preserve public confidence in the impartiality of the judicial process.