Penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act and the rules, orders and directions
(1) Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions of this Act, or the rules made or orders or directions issued thereunder, shall, in respect of each such failure or contravention, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both, and in case the failure or contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction for the first such failure or contravention.
(2) If the failure or contravention referred to in sub-section (1) continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years.
In plain English
What this section actually means
Section 15 is the single penal clause of the Act — every operative section ultimately feeds into it. Any contravention of any provision of the Act, or of any rule, order or direction issued under it, attracts:
• Sub-section (1): Imprisonment up to 5 years; or fine up to ₹1,00,000; or both. If the contravention continues, an additional fine up to ₹5,000 per day after the first conviction. • Sub-section (2): If the contravention continues for more than one year after the first conviction, imprisonment can rise to 7 years.
The original Section 15 has been the workhorse of EPA prosecutions since 1986. Important real-world update: the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 — operational from 2024 — has decriminalised many non-grave contraventions by replacing imprisonment with a monetary-penalty regime under an Adjudicating Officer. The grave / continuing offences (like the seven-year imprisonment under Section 15(2)) remain criminal. The user's source PDF prints only the original Section 15.
Visual
See how it flows
Penalty matrix
Section 15 penalty ladder
The same Section 15 escalates from fine to seven-year imprisonment.
First-time contravention
Section 15(1)
Up to 5 yrs imprisonment, up to ₹1 lakh fine, or bothContinuing after first conviction
Section 15(1)
Extra ₹5,000 per day fine on top of base sentenceContinuing more than 1 year after conviction
Section 15(2)
Up to 7 yrs imprisonment
Real life
What this looks like in real life
Repeat offender after first conviction
Setup. A textile dye unit is convicted under Section 15(1) for effluent exceedance. It continues to discharge effluents above the limit for the next 14 months.
What the law does. Under Section 15(1), the unit attracts the ₹5,000/day continuing-fine for each day after conviction. Once the contravention crosses the one-year mark, Section 15(2) is triggered — the operator faces up to seven years' imprisonment. Closure under Section 5 is the inevitable parallel step.
Landmark cases
How the courts have read this
U.P. Pollution Control Board v. Mohan Meakins Ltd.
Supreme Court of India · 2000 · (2000) 3 SCC 745
Section 15 prosecutions must be tried strictly in accordance with the chain-of-custody requirements of Section 11. Procedural lapses are fatal to the prosecution.
Cross-references
Read this alongside
- Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023§Schedule — entries relating to EPA·Decriminalises certain Section 15 contraventions and creates the Adjudicating Officer regime and Environment Protection Fund.
Frequently asked
Questions about Section 15
Open this section in the source PDF
Environment Protection Act, 1986.pdf
Page 11 · opens in new tab