Chapter IV§18–26
Miscellaneous
Chapter IV ties up the loose ends — protection for honest officers (Section 18), the unique citizen-complaint route (Section 19), reporting duties (Section 20), public-servant status for authority members (Section 21), bar of civil courts (Section 22), delegation (Section 23), interaction with other laws (Section 24), the general rule-making power (Section 25) and the parliamentary laying of rules (Section 26). Read in sequence, these nine sections are how Parliament balanced the Centre's enormous Chapter II–III powers with safeguards for officers, citizens and Parliament itself.
Sections in this chapter
- §18
Section 18
Protection of action taken in good faith
Section 18 is the personal-immunity shield. Anything done — or even intended to be done — in good faith under the Act, rules, orders or directions cannot be the subject of a suit, prosecution or legal proceeding against the Government, its officers, or members and employees of any authority constituted under the Act (such as the CPCB, SPCBs constituted under Section 3(3), or now the Commission for Air Quality Management). 'Good faith' here imports the General Clauses Act standard — done honestly, whether negligently or not. So a Section-10 inspector who follows the law in spirit but makes an honest mistake about a fact is protected; an inspector who acts maliciously is not. This is the section that lets pollution-control officials act decisively without fearing personal civil suits from aggrieved units.
- §19
Section 19
Cognizance of offences
Section 19 is one of the most under-rated provisions of Indian environmental law: it gives ordinary citizens a direct entry point. No court can take cognizance of an EPA offence unless the complaint comes from (a) the Central Government or its authorised officer, or (b) any person who has given 60 days' prior notice in the prescribed form (Form II under Rule 11 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986). This means a citizen who notices a polluting unit can — after a sixty-day notice — file a complaint directly in the Magistrate's court, even if the SPCB has chosen not to act. The provision has been used by NGOs, RWAs and local activists to bring private criminal complaints when official enforcement has been slow. The 60-day period gives the authorities a chance to step in first. If they prosecute, the citizen's path becomes academic. If they do nothing, the citizen-complaint proceeds.
- §20
Section 20
Information, reports or returns
Section 20 is the data-call power. The Centre can require any person — including a State Government — to furnish reports, returns, statistics, accounts or 'other information'. The duty to furnish is mandatory ('shall be bound to do so'). Failure attracts Section 15. This is the statutory basis for the various environment statements, annual reports, online monitoring data uploads and pollution-load returns that industry has to file with CPCB and SPCBs. It is also the route by which the Centre obtains State-level compliance data.
- §21
Section 21
Members, officers and employees of the authority constituted under section 3 to be public servants
Section 21 deems every member, officer and employee of any Section-3(3) authority to be a 'public servant' under Section 21 IPC (now corresponding provision under Section 2(28) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023). Two legal consequences flow. First, the criminal-law protections available to public servants — for example, the need for sanction under Section 197 CrPC (now Section 218 BNSS, 2023) before prosecution for acts done in official capacity — apply. Second, the criminal-law obligations also apply — bribery, criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the public-servant offences in the BNS all attach.
- §22
Section 22
Bar of jurisdiction
Section 22 ousts civil-court jurisdiction over anything done, action taken, or order/direction issued under the Act. So a company cannot file a civil suit to restrain a Section 5 direction or seek damages from a Section 11 sampling. The ousted remedies have to be sought in (a) the National Green Tribunal under the NGT Act, 2010 (appeal against most EPA orders under Section 16 of that Act); or (b) the High Court in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution (which Section 22 cannot bar — Constitutional writ remedies are inviolable). What is barred: civil suits, declaratory suits, suits for injunction, and any other proceeding before a civil court in respect of EPA action. What is not barred: NGT appeals, writs in the High Court / Supreme Court, criminal proceedings under Section 19.
- §23
Section 23
Powers to delegate
Section 23 is the delegation pipeline. The Centre may delegate any of its EPA powers — except two — by notification in the Official Gazette to any officer, State Government or other authority. The two non-delegable powers are: (a) the power to constitute an authority under Section 3(3); and (b) the power to make rules under Section 25. Everything else — Section 3(2) measures, Section 5 directions, Section 7 enforcement, Section 11 sampling, Section 20 data calls — can be delegated. The most consequential delegation is the Centre's delegation of Section 5 directions to most State Governments (Notification S.O. 152(E) dated 10-2-1988 and subsequent notifications). That is why most Section 5 closure orders today are issued by State authorities, not by the Centre.
- §24
Section 24
Effect of other laws
Section 24 reconciles EPA with the larger statute book. Sub-section (1) is a wide non-obstante clause: EPA and its rules / orders override any inconsistent provision of any other Act. So if a State municipal law allows a discharge that EPA rules forbid, EPA wins. Sub-section (2) is the double-punishment safeguard. If the same act or omission is an offence under both EPA and another Act, the offender is to be punished only under the other Act, not under EPA. The 'other Act' here typically means the Water Act, the Air Act or the Hazardous Substances Insurance Act. The practical effect: prosecutors must choose the right statute carefully. Where the conduct is also a water-pollution offence, prosecute under the Water Act and not EPA. Where there is no overlap, EPA is available.
- §25
Section 25
Power to make rules
Section 25 is the general rule-making power. Sub-section (1) lets the Centre make rules to carry out the purposes of the Act. Sub-section (2) catalogues ten specific subjects — the standards under Section 7 (clause a), procedures under Section 8 (clause b), Section 9 reporting authorities (clause c), sampling manner under Section 11 (clause d), Form V notice (clause e), lab procedures under Section 12 (clause f), Government Analyst qualifications under Section 13 (clause g), Section 19 citizen-notice form (clause h), Section 20 reporting authorities (clause i), and a residual 'any other matter' (clause j). This is the section under which the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 are made — the single most important piece of subordinate legislation in Indian environmental law. The Rules in turn carry the operative Schedules: emission limits (Schedule I), general effluent standards (Schedule VI), noise limits (Schedule III), NAAQS (Schedule VII), reporting authorities (Schedule V), and so on.
- §26
Section 26
Rules made under this Act to be laid before Parliament
Section 26 is the parliamentary-laying clause. Every rule made under the Act — whether under Section 6 or Section 25 — must be laid before both Houses of Parliament for thirty cumulative days. Within that period (and right after), if both Houses agree to modify or annul a rule, the rule is treated accordingly. The last clause is a saving — any action taken under the rule before the modification or annulment remains valid. So a closure direction issued under a rule that Parliament later annuls is not retrospectively invalidated. This is the standard 'laying-with-modification-power' formula seen in many Indian statutes. It is Parliament's residual control over the Centre's delegated legislation.
Real life
What this chapter means in practice
A factory owner mounts a multi-pronged challenge to a Section 5 closure
Setup. After receiving a Section 5 closure direction, a factory owner explores all available avenues — civil suit, NGT appeal, writ in High Court, criminal complaint against the SPCB officer.
What the law does. Section 22 bars the civil suit. Section 18 bars the criminal complaint against the officer (good faith). The NGT appeal (Section 16 NGT Act, 2010) and Article 226 writ remain — and are the legitimate routes. Chapter IV thus channels environmental disputes into specialised forums while preserving Constitutional remedies.
Frequently asked
Common questions about this chapter
Read the full Act
Environment Protection Act, 1986.pdf
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