- (1.) The petitioners seek quashing of proceedings in Criminal Misc. Case No. 2153 of 1989 pending in the court of Special Judicial Magistrate (Pollution Control), Lucknow by this application u/S. 482 Cr.P.C.
(2.) According to the petitioners the petitioner No. 1 is a public limited company. It has entered into a technical collaboration with M/s. Besmer Tephic Fabric Martens K. G., a German Company for manufacture of carpets. It became sick in December, 1990 and applied to the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction. The trade affluence from the petitioners' manufacturing unit is being scientifically treated to make it free from pollution and a part of it is used by the land owners and cultivators for agricultural purposes. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 prohibits discharge of trade affluence in the stream. The river Karve is connected only through a U.P.S.I.D.C. drain which also (sic) toxic materials from other neighbouring units. A complaint has, however, been filed by the U. P. Pollution Control Board (hereinafter referred to as the 'Board' for short) against the applicants in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bulandshahar which was subsequently transferred to the court of the Special Judicial Magistrate at Lucknow. This complaint is based on a sample taken on 6-1-1986 the inspection report, copy of which is Annexure 1 stating that the affluence is discharged in U.P.S.I.D.C. drain which reaches river Karve through Nizampur drain. According to the petitioner, the drain is not a stream under the aforesaid Act. The applicants themselves got a sample taken on 3-3-1986. It was examined by Shri Ram Institute for Industrial Research, Delhi as specified by U. P. Pollution Control Board. The BOD found to be 22, within the limits prescribed. The applicants were not supplied its report by the Board. The complaint was filed against all the Directors. The applicants 7 and 8 are Directors only because of collaboration. The complaint does not show that there was any connection of the directors with the alleged breach. The President and the Executive Vice-President are the other persons responsible for the affairs of the company and not all the Directors. The Board of Directors has delegated their powers. The applicants have also started treating the affluence and have also started using it for eucalyptus plantation. Non-bailable warrants has been issued against the applicants. The applicant No. 2 has already died in a plane crash in February, 1990.
(3.) The complaint copy of which is Annexure 4 to the application, has been challenged firstly on the ground that no complaint could be filed against the Directors under the provisions of law, secondly on the ground that the petitioner having applied for protection under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985, no legal proceedings can be instituted. It was also urged that the analysis got done by the authorised laboratory shows the BOD within the prescribed limits and, therefore, there was no pollution being caused and lastly on the ground that in any view of the matter the affluence was not being discharged in any stream.;