Southern States - Tamil Nadu

HC stay on TNPCB action against marriage halls

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI April 18. The Madras High Court has restrained State authorities, including the Pollution Control Board from initiating any `penal action of prosecution' against marriage halls for alleged violation of the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974.

On a petition from the Tamil Nadu Kalyana Mandapam Owners' Association, the First Bench comprising the Chief Justice B. Subhashan Reddy and Justice Prabha Sridevan gave the interim direction and also asked the board `not to precipitate the matter'.

The petition challenged the PCB attempts at bringing the marriage halls within the purview of the Act by which they were to be treated as industries coming under the medium- polluting `Orange category'.

The board had sent show-cause notices to marriage halls saying they could be prosecuted for contravening Sections 25 and 26 of the Act, and under Section 44 of the Act the owners would be liable for punishment ranging from 18 months to 7 years.

According to the petition, classifying marriage halls under the `orange category' was arbitrary as they were not involved in any manufacturing activity, nor did they emit noxious or polluting sewage.

The PCB had no legal sanction to prosecute these halls since they ``are not brought within the purview of the Act even though cinema theatres, hotels and beach resorts were categorised as `orange'. In this context, the petition pointed out that marriage halls found no mention at all under the `orange' category.

Noting that marriage halls were merely service providers, the petition said the relationship between the halls and the actual users was one of the landlord-tenant type. Members of the association ``rent out the premises for non-residential purposes and provided amenities and ambience for the conduct of auspicious functions only''.

The association prayed for an interim injunction restraining the authorities from acting/coercing/enforcing in any manner the provisions of the 1974 Act.

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