Delhi HC sets aside jail term in 25-year-old Yamuna pollution case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, in a two-decade-old matter concerning the discharge of untreated effluent into the sewer leading to the River Yamuna, set aside the 3-year sentence imposed on a sweet manufacturer in Chandni Chowk.

- TDG NETWORK

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The High Court granted the relief after imposing an additional penalty of Rs 10 lakh, citing the latest amendment to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, which has abolished custodial punishment.

In 2017, the trial court imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh and sentenced the proprietor of a sweet manufacturer to 3 years’ imprisonment. The petitioner has challenged the trial court’s order.

Now that the High Court has upheld the conviction, it has modified the sentence in light of an amendment to the Act, imposing an additional penalty in addition to the previous one.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the judgement in the petition moved by Raj Kumar Gupta, the proprietor of the manufacturing unit.