Chandigarh, May 2 The Punjab and Haryana High Court received an assurance from the Punjab Pollution Control Board that no coercive steps would be taken against Trident Limited till Monday, after the company claimed that a raid operation against it appears to be motivated by extraneous and political considerations.
Trident Limited moved the high court after the PPCB conducted a raid operation at its premises on April 30.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta is the Chairman Emeritus of the company. Gupta is one of the seven MPs who recently quit the AAP and joined the BJP.
During the hearing on the company's plea on Friday, a counsel representing PPCB submitted before the bench, headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, that no coercive steps would be taken against the petitioner company till May 4.
In a petition, the company submitted that it was aggrieved by the arbitrary, coercive, and mala fide actions of the respondents in conducting "an unprecedented raid" at the manufacturing premises on April 30.
The action was taken "without prior notice, without any communicated violation, and in complete disregard of the principles of natural justice," as per the plea.
The petitioner submitted that a large contingent of more than 30 PPCB officials conducted a raid at its premises on April 30 in "a high-handed and coercive manner".
"The scale and nature of the raid are wholly disproportionate, particularly when no environmental violation has been recorded in the visit report/panchnama. Such action is not consistent with past inspections and clearly indicates "abuse of power," the plea read.
The petitioner further submitted that the timing and circumstances of the raid raise serious concerns of mala fide intent.
"The action appears to be motivated by extraneous and political considerations, particularly in light of recent political developments concerning the petitioner's Chairman Emeritus. Such colourable exercise of power vitiates the entire action," as per the plea.
"The said raid was arbitrary and unprecedented and only conducted with an intention to intimidate the petitioner Company and to settle political score owing to Mr (Rajinder) Gupta's switch of political allegiance," as per the plea.
The company apprehended imminent coercive steps despite the absence of any established violation, it submitted.
Additionally, the petitioner sought directions to ensure fairness and transparency in any sampling process, including sending samples to independent laboratories outside Punjab and ensuring collection through independent agencies, to eliminate any possibility of bias.
It further sought protection against disclosure of sensitive information collected during the raid, as the petitioner is a listed entity and such disclosures may adversely impact its market standing and investor interests.
