Page 22 - Banking Finance December 2019

LEGAL UPDATE

LEGAL

CASES
CASES
CASES
CASES
CASES

Draft law proposes com- Stop farm fires or face contempt: SC to 3 states
pensation for faulty With pollution in Delhi and NCR assuming the proportions of a health emergency,
the Supreme Court passed a slew of orders and
medical devices, im- directed UP, Haryana and Punjab governments
plants to immediately stop stubble burning in their
states or face contempt proceedings.
Patients suffering from adverse ef-
fects of Terming the present situation is worse than an
faulty emergency given reports of pollution shorten-
medical ing life spans in NCR, the court banned all con-
devices struction and demolition work till further or-
and im- ders, prescribing a fine of Rs 1 lakh for violations. It also prohibited the use of
plants diesel-run generators and directed the states to ensure round-the-clock elec-
will soon be able to demand com- tricity supply.
pensation from the manufacturer or
the firm importing them under a The court said all officials and authorities, from the chief secretary to gram
new regulatory framework pro- pradhans, would be held liable for stubble burning and will have to face con-
posed by the government think tank tempt proceedings for failing in their duty to stop it. It summoned chief secre-
taries of all three states on November 6 to explain failure to halt the burning of
Niti Aayog.
crop residue.
At present, there are no legal pro-
Though the SC has been monitoring Delhi pollution for years and had passed
visions to compensate patients fac-
ing health problems due to faulty orders like banning polluting crackers and introducing cleaner fuel, the situa-
implants or medical devices. The tion remains grim during winter and this year too, the problem due to stubble
draft legislation, titled Medical De- burning in neighbouring states has been a serious issue.
vices (Safety, Effectiveness and Inno- Taking note of widespread stubble burning in three states as revealed by satel-
vation) Bill, 2019, has been put up lite images, a bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta said the authori-
for consultation within ministries. ties from “top to bottom” would be made responsible if even a single incident
It aims at regulating all locally-made of burning is reported.
and imported medical devices. The “Delhi is choking every year and we are not able to do anything. It cannot hap-
draft law proposes a penalty of up to pen in a civilised society. People’s right to life is most important. No one wants
Rs. 1 crore on the manufacturers or to visit Delhi. Even in bedrooms in Lutyens’ zone, acceptable quality limit of air
importers for faulty medical devices is more than 500. This is not the way in which people can survive in the city,”
having adverse impacts on patients. the bench said.

22 | 2019 | DECEMBER | BANKING FINANCE