HC orders DoE to publish names of environment polluters

The High Court has directed the Department of Environment (DoE) to publish the names of environmental polluters in the media after taking action against them.

In the same verdict, the court declared illegal and void the Department of Environment's decision not to disclose the names of environment-polluting companies in the media.

The verdict was delivered today (4 March) by a High Court bench comprising Justice Farid Ahmed and Justice Syed Mohammed Tazrul Hossain, disposing of a writ petition in this regard. The court made absolute the rule issued in 2022.

In its observation, the court said the Right to Information Act ensures the public's right to know. It noted that polluters cause harm to the country and that disclosure of their identities in the media could deter others from similar violations.

The court therefore termed the decision to conceal such information illegal and unlawful. It also ordered that details of every action taken against environmental polluters in the future be published through press releases, official websites and the media.

Senior lawyer Monjil Morshed appeared for the petitioner organisation Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), while lawyer Muntasir Uddin Ahmed represented the Department of Environment.

In April 2022, media reports said the Department of Environment had decided not to disclose the names of environment-polluting establishments despite taking action against them, citing the need to protect their "reputation". The reports also suggested the decision had been taken under pressure from influential business groups.

Citing the report, HRPB filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the legality of the decision in the public interest. The petition was submitted by lawyer Md Mohammad Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury, naming five respondents, including the environment secretary, the information secretary and the director general of the Department of Environment.

After a preliminary hearing on 13 June 2022, the High Court issued a rule asking why the decision should not be declared illegal and why authorities should not be directed to publish the names of environment-polluting establishments.

The court later fixed 17 November last year for hearing the rule. Final hearings were held on 19, 23 and 24 November and on 2, 10 and 15 December before the verdict was delivered today.

During the hearing, Monjil Morshed argued that Section 4(2) of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 and Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act 2009 clearly provide for disclosure of information.

He said the Department of Environment is responsible for taking measures to control pollution and making those actions public. Instead, he argued, the decision had been taken to favour business groups and was contrary to environmental law.

After the verdict, lawyer Monjil Morshed told journalists that the ruling would ensure that fines or other actions taken against environmental polluters are made public.

"This will make other establishments more cautious. When such matters become public, it also involves questions of reputation, which can create awareness among those responsible," he said.

Regarding the current activities of the Department of Environment, he said, "The progress made until 5 August was later undermined. The administration faces various pressures while carrying out field-level work. There have even been incidents where magistrates were attacked during drives to evict brick kilns in the Chattogram Hill Tracts."

The lawyer also said that because of the prevailing "mob culture," the administration in many cases "remains fearful".