Chapter IV MISCELLANEOUS

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government or any officer or other employee of the Government or any authority constituted under this Act or any member, officer or other employee of such authority in respect of anything which is done or intended to be done in good faith in pursuance of this Act or the rules made or orders or directions issued thereunder.

No court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a complaint made by,--

1. (a) the Central Government or any authority or officer authorised in this behalf by that Government; or 1[(aa) adjudicating officer or any officer authorised by him in this behalf;]
2. (b) any person who has given notice of not less than sixty days, in the manner prescribed, of the alleged offence and of his intention to make a complaint, to the Central Government or the authority or officer authorised as aforesaid.

The Central Government may, in relation to its functions under this Act, from time to time, require any person, officer, State Government or other authority to furnish to it or any prescribed authority or officer any reports, returns, statistics, accounts and other information and such person, officer, State Government or other authority shall be bound to do so.

All the members of the authority, constituted, if any, under section 3 and all officers and other employees of such authority when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any provisions of this Act or the rules made or orders or directions issued thereunder shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of anything done, action taken or order or direction issued by the Central Government or any other authority or officer in pursuance of any power conferred by or in relation to its or his functions under this Act.

Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 3, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, delegate, subject to such conditions and limitations as may be specified in the notification, such of its powers and functions under this Act [except the power to constitute an authority under sub-section (3) of section 3 and to make rules under section 25] as it may deem necessary or expedient, to any officer, State Government or other authority.

1[24. Effect of other laws.--The provisions of this Act and the rules or orders made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force.]

1. (1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:--
   • (a) the standards in excess of which environmental pollutants shall not be discharged or emitted under section 7;
   • (b) the procedure in accordance with and the safeguards in compliance with which hazardous substances shall be handled or cause to be handled under section 8;
   • (c) the authorities or agencies to which intimation of the fact of occurrence or apprehension of occurrence of the discharge of any environmental pollutant in excess of the prescribed standards shall be given and to whom all assistance shall be bound to be rendered under sub-section (1) of section 9;
   • (d) the manner in which samples of air, water, soil or other substance for the purpose of analysis shall be taken under sub-section (1) of section 11;
   • (e) the form in which notice of intention to have a sample analysed shall be served under clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 11;
   • (f) the functions of the environmental laboratories, the procedure for the submission to such laboratories of samples of air, water, soil and other substances for analysis or test; the form of laboratory report; the fees payable for such report and other matters to enable such laboratories to carry out their functions under sub-section (2) of section 12;
   • (g) the qualifications of Government Analyst appointed or recognised for the purpose of analysis of samples of air, water, soil or other substances under section 13; 1[(ga) the manner of holding inquiry and imposing penalty by the adjudicating officer under sub-section (1) and other factors for determining quantum of penalty under clause (f) of sub-section (4) of section 15C;
   • (gb) the other amount under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 16;
   • (gc) the other purposes under clause (c) of sub-section (3) of section 16;
   • (gd) the manner of administration of Fund under sub-section (4) of section 16;
   • (ge) form for maintenance of accounts of the Fund and for preparation of annual statement of accounts under sub-section (1) of section 16A;
   • (gf) form for preparing annual report of the Fund under section 16B;]
   • (h) the manner in which notice of the offence and of the intention to make a complaint to the Central Government shall be given under clause (b) of section 19;
     • (i) the authority or officer to whom any reports, returns, statistics accounts and other information shall be furnished under section 20;
   • (j) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.

Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.