Medical waste: Plea seeking Kerala vehicle’s release junked

MADURAI: The Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Monday dismissed the petition seeking the release of his vehicle, which was seized by the Arumanai police in Kanniyakumari district on charges of illegal transportation of medical waste.

VS Shibu, a petitioner from Neyyattinkara, Kerala, wanted to set aside the order, which was passed by the Principal Sessions Judge, Nagercoil, dated January 27, 2024, confirming the order passed by the Judicial Magistrate–I, Kuzhithurai, dated October 5, 2023.

On September 17, 2023, the vehicle bearing registration – KL-21-R-6388 was seized by Arumanai police for its involvement in the illegal transportation of medical waste. In this connection, a case was registered against the driver.

The Health Inspector at Sundareshapuram Government Primary Health Centre complained that plastic and medical wastes were dumped by the accused in the place belonging to the Railway department.

Justice B Pugalendhi in his order said though repeated orders were being passed by the Courts, the mismanagement of medical and bio-medical waste and the menace of illegal transportation and dumping of such waste has not been curtailed.

In fact, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Zone, Chennai, had recently taken suo-motu cognizance of the issue relating to unidentified miscreants who had dumped the biomedical, food, plastics and other wastes from Kerala to Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu.

The NGT is continuously monitoring the issue and is passing a slew of directions, besides making stringent observations.

However, when this court verified with the Additional Public Prosecutor as to the status of the vehicles involved in such illegal transportation and dumping of solid wastes, bio-medical wastes, etc., the response from the department was not satisfactory. The Director General of Police filed a status report showing the number of cases registered and the number of vehicles seized. While recognising the action taken by the department in increasing the number of check posts, this court takes judicial notice of the fact that none of the vehicles involved in these cases has been confiscated so far.

Though there are enabling provisions available under the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 and Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, it was not known why the vehicles involved in such offences have not been confiscated so far.

Launching prosecution alone would not suffice. Confiscation of vehicles used for the offence should be done to curtail the menace, by instilling fear in the offenders. Therefore, newly impleaded respondents should, by issuing necessary circulars/orders/memorandums to their respective officers/officials, ensure that the object of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 and Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023 were implemented in its stricto sensu, by confiscating the vehicles which are used in the commission of the offence.