Supreme Court: Conflicting Orders Will Lead To Anomalous Situation; Tribunals Like NGT Are SubordinateTo A High Court

The Supreme Court in the case State of Andhra Pradesh vs Raghu Rama Krishna Raju Kanumuru (MP) observed that the Tribunals like National Green Tribunal are subordinate to High Courts. The bench comprising of Justices B R Gavai observed that there can be no manner of doubt that in such a situation, the order passed by the Constitutional Court would be prevailing over the orders passed by the statutory tribunals. In the present Case, a writ petition challenging the said construction, was filed before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh as the state was running a resort at Rushikonda Hill, near Visakhapatnam and it was demolished for reconstructing the resort at the same place with additional facilities. An Interim order was passed by High Court for permitting the Construction. The National Green Tribunal Initiated Proceedings and prohibited the State from Undertaking any further construction, while taking cognizance of a letter sent to it by a sitting member of Parliament. It was contended before the Apex Court by the State challenging the proceedings before NGT that that when the High Court of competent jurisdiction was already in seisin of the matter, the NGT could not have entertained a list with regard to the same cause of action. The bench observed, while agreeing with his contentions that on the part of the NGT it is not appropriate to have continued with the proceedings before it. no law is necessary to state that insofar as the Tribunals are concerned a sin any case, they would be subordinate to the High Court insofar as the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court is concerned. The bench further refers to the judgement of the Constitutional bench in the case the judgment of the Constitution Bench of this Court in the case of L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India and Others, therefore, the court is of the considered view that it was not appropriate on the part of the learned NGT to have continued with the proceedings before it, specifically, when it was pointed that the High Court was also in seisin of the matter and had passed an interim order permitting the construction and the conflicting orders passed by the learned NGT and the High Court would lead to an anomalous situation as where the authorities would be faced with a difficulty as to which order they are required to follow. In such cases, there can be no manner of doubt that, it is the orders passed by the constitutional courts, which would be prevailing over the orders passed by the statutory tribunals. the proceedings before NGT was quashed by the Court and the court permitted the parties to move the High Court for appropriate orders. It also clarified that until the High Court considers the issue and the construction will be permitted only on the area where the construction existed earlier and which has been demolished and the flat area.