Air pollution in Delhi: HC dismisses LLM student’s plea seeking Rs 15 lakh compensation, insurance

PTI, Sep 5, 2022, 5:49 PM IST

Image credit: Flickr

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition by a law student seeking Rs 15 lakh compensation and medical insurance of Rs 25 lakh on account of air pollution here.

Justice Yashwant Varma told the petitioner that the court was a serious place and filing a petition was not a tool for his resume.

The court also noted that there was no material on record to even remotely establish any personal injury to the petitioner because of pollution.

“Court is a serious place and the filing or the right to file a petition in this court is not merely a tool for your resume or your CV. Next time you have a serious issue to raise, you are most welcome to do so,” the court remarked.

“The writ petition is misconceived and is accordingly dismissed,” the court said.

The petitioner, Shivam Pandey, an LLM student said that “pollution is a slow poison” that cuts down the life of a person by five to nine years.

“I don’t want a general discussion of the subject of pollution and its side effects. I am asking you, to show us from the record the personal injury suffered by you… any medical report, any medical evidence, examination of a doctor who may have treated you after you suffered on account of pollution?” the court asked the petitioner.

The petitioner said that he was “facing breathing issues” and personal injury due to pollution would become apparent only in his old age.

In his petition, the petitioner sought Rs 15 lakh as compensation for “specific and exemplary damages” caused to him, besides health insurance for himself from the Centre and the Delhi government on account of the air quality.

He contended that pollution was the root cause of various diseases as it severely affects human health.

Air pollution specifically leads to adverse impacts on human health and results in chronic headache, eye irritation, skin irritation, problems in respiratory functions as well as associated morbidity, the petition stated.

The plea also claimed that air pollution can also cause serious lung diseases and cancer.

It highlighted that the Supreme Court has already expanded the scope of Article 21 of the Constitution of India by holding the “Right to clean pollution-free environment” as a fundamental right.