The Supreme Court has upheld an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that a commercial property owner in Gujarat cannot be held responsible for environmental wrongs committed by the tenant.
A bench of justices dismissed the appeal filed by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) challenging the NGT order that directed the closure of the premises and levied a penalty of ₹25 lakh.
The NGT had favoured the landlord, Jagmohan Lachiram Jalan, who had leased out the plot to Suryaprakash Silaram Somani in September 2020. The rent agreement required that no illegal acts be permitted on the premises.
The NGT said that the landlord cannot be held accountable for the illegal acts committed by the tenant and set aside the order imposing the interim environmental damage compensation (EDC) of ₹25 lakh on the landlord.
