Environment Protection Act·Chapter III·Prevention, Control and Abatement of Environmental Pollution

Offences by Government departments

Verbatim from the Act

(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by any Department of Government, the Head of the Department shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Provided that nothing contained in this section shall render such Head of the Department liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercise all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a Department of Government and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any officer, other than the Head of the Department, such officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

— Section 17, Environment Protection Act 1986

In plain English

What this section actually means

Section 17 is Section 16's twin for Government departments. The Head of the Department is deemed personally guilty when the department commits an EPA offence — subject to the same 'no knowledge / due diligence' proviso. Sub-section (2) catches subordinate officers where consent, connivance or neglect is proved.

This section is what makes Pollution Control Boards, Municipal Corporations, PWDs and Railways accountable for their own pollution. Municipal sewage discharges, PWD road-construction dust, Railway diesel emissions, hospital incinerator fumes — all attract Section 17 if the department itself runs the facility.

Visual

See how it flows

Real life

What this looks like in real life

Real-life scenario

Municipal Corporation's untreated sewage outfall

Setup. A Municipal Corporation discharges 14 MLD of partly-treated sewage into a river, exceeding BOD norms.

What the law does. Section 7 contravention by the Corporation triggers Section 15 prosecution; Section 17(1) deems the Municipal Commissioner (Head of Department) personally guilty unless the Proviso defence is made out. Where engineers were aware of the breach and did nothing, Section 17(2) also catches them.

Applies under Section 7 read with Sections 15 and 17Municipal Commissioner faces personal prosecution; closure direction unlikely but compensation orders typical.

Frequently asked

Questions about Section 17

Open this section in the source PDF

Environment Protection Act, 1986.pdf

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