HC exasperated with repeated adjournments sought by Centre,

Vexed with repeated adjournments sought by central and state governments on a PIL challenging legality of amendments to Environmental Impact Assessment Act, the Madras High Court has threatened to take the matter to the union cabinet secretariat's notice for appropriate action.
"What prevents the state and central government authorities to pick the instrument that Alexander Graham Bell invented more than a century ago - the telephone," the First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana observed, exasperated by repeated pleas for adjournments.
In its order, the bench said that "to say the least, this is exasperating. It gives an impression as if the central and state governments are incapable of picking up what Alexander Graham Bell invented years ago, and sorting out the issue."

The bench made the observation when the Centre sought yet another adjournment, saying it was in the process of holding discussions with Tamil Nadu government and to demonstrate its new litigation management system.
The PIL has been filed by E Seshan (65), a conservationist and wildlife photographer who had worked with the Zoological Survey of India for more than 35 years.
His PIL challenged legality of the amendments made to Environmental Impact Assessment and the notification issued in December 2014 by the EIA authority modifying the definition of built-up area and providing exemptions which ran contrary to the main Act.

When the matter came up on September 8 this year, the bench had impressed on the submission made by Assistant Solicitor General for the central government Su. Sreenivasan that the Law Ministry was setting up a Legal Information Management and Briefing System which was still at experimental stage and it would help state and central governments to track the status of cases involving them and to take necessary follow-up action.

The bench then asked the Assistant Solicitor General to submit a module of the same to the Court enabling it to examine and make suggestions.
On October 6, when the matter came up, the Assistant Solicitor General had sought two-week adjournment.

Again when the matter came up on November 4, the Centre informed the court that it was in the process of holding meetings with state government to demonstrate the system to state authorities.
When the matter came up on Thursday, the First Bench
criticized the authorities for seeking adjournments on one or other ground.
"There seems to be great reluctance for even the high court to have a look and make suggestions. We are inclined to at least refer this order to the cabinet secretariat to bring to the notice of the authorities concerned our anguish about the matter in which such aspects are dealt with."

But the Additional Solicitor General assured the court that the matter would be brought to the notice of not only the union Law Secretary but also the Law Minister to be sorted out.
The bench then posted the matter to January 7 and directed the central and state governments to do the needful by that date.