The Supreme Court has recently suspended a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling that imposed a penalty exceeding ₹1,000 crore on the State of Punjab due to inadequate waste management practices.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, has issued a notice regarding Punjab's appeal, stayed the NGT order, and set the matter for further hearing on October 21.

On September 22, 2022, the NGT imposed a penalty of ₹2,080 crore on Punjab for failing to effectively manage solid and liquid waste. This ruling followed the Supreme Court's directives in the cases of Almitra H. Patel vs. Union of India & Ors and Paryavaran Suraksha vs. Union of India, which mandated the tribunal to oversee the enforcement of waste management regulations.

The NGT ordered the State to deposit the penalty amount in a ring-fenced account, to be managed according to the Chief Secretary's directions and used for restoration efforts. However, during a hearing in July this year, the NGT noted that the account had not been established, nor had the penalty been paid. This inaction was deemed a violation under section 26 of the NGT Act.

As a result of ongoing environmental violations, the Tribunal imposed an additional penalty of approximately ₹1,026 crore on July 25, which was to be deposited with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Punjab subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which stayed this order on September 20.

The State was represented by Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Gurminder Singh, along with Additional Advocate General Sandeep Bajaj and advocates Baani Khanna, Robin Singh, Rohit Kumar, Govinda Choudhary, Mayank Biyani, and Siddharth Seem.