TEAM CODE:

BEFORE THE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT OF REPUBLIC OF

PURABDESH

ORIGINAL WRIT JURISDICTION PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

KUDRETI KHETI ABHIYAN………………………..…………….………...PETITIONER

VS
UNION OR PURABDESH………………………..…………….…….….RESPONDENT

UPON SUBMISSIONS TO THE HON’BLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND HIS

COMPANION JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PURABDESH

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
STATEMENT OF FACTS
STATEMENT OF ISSUES
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
 STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

The Petitioner has the honour to approach the Hon’ble Supreme Court of
Purabdesh under the jurisdiction of Article 32 which reads as follows:
“32. Remedies for enforcement of rights conferred by this part-
(1) The right to move to the supreme court by appropriate proceedings for
the enforcement of the rights conferred by this part is guaranteed.
(2) The Supreme Court shall have power to issue directions or orders or
writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus,
prohibition, quo warranto, and certiorari, whichever may be appropriate,
for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by this part.”
 STATEMENT OF FACTS

1. Republic of Purabdesh (“Purabdesh”) is a country in South Asia. In terms

of land mass, it is the world’s fifth largest country. However, it is the
second most populous country with more than 60 % of its population
working in the agriculture sector with reliance on traditional methods of
agriculture. Bound by sea on three sides i.e. east, west, south, and the
highest mountain range on its north, the country enjoys unique
geographical and ecological benefits.
2. Purabdesh gained independence from Oshiyana around 70 years back.
The Constitution of Purabdesh (“Constitution”) declares Purabdesh to be
a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of
justice, equality, and liberty. Purabdesh takes great pride in the
Constitution which draws inspiration from various countries and some
international conventions.
3. Purabdesh is a quasi-federal coastal country embracing a rich cultural
history and existence of varied religious and ethnic groups. It has12
States and 3 Union Territories, with the Union Territory of Dilprastha as
its capital city. Historically, Dilprastha has served as the capital of several
kingdoms and empires before Purabdesh’s Independence from Oshiyana.
Due to its rich cultural and ethnic heritage, the city of Dilprastha is one of
the world’s most popular tourist destinations and every year attracts an
average 8-10 million tourists.
4. In the post-independence era, especially the last four decades, the city of
Dilprastha has seen massive infrastructural development in order to
provide sustenance to its ever increasing population and to further meet
the global standards of being the capital city of the largest democracy in
the world.
5. Policy of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (“LPG”) adopted
by the government of Purabdesh in early 1970s further quickened the
pace of development in the city of Dilprastha. It is noteworthy that post
LPG era saw several multi-national.
6. Policy of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (“LPG”) adopted
by the government of Purabdesh in early 1970s further quickened the
 pace of development in the city of Dilprastha. It is noteworthy that post
LPG era saw several multi-national. companies (“MNCs”), small/ large
scale industries and manufacturing units mushrooming in and around
the city of Dilprastha.
7. Omnipresent development in Dilprastha offered huge employment and
livelihood opportunities to people belonging to all classes and sectors.
Inevitably, the city expanded significantly resulting in a threefold rise in
population and a seven-fold rise in the number of vehicles between 1990
and 2019. Though Dilprastha is the most populous city in Purabdesh, it
ranks third amongst the States and other Union Territories in the country
in human development index.
8. In order to promote balanced and harmonized inter-state regional
development, the National Capital Region (“NCR”) was constituted in the
year 1995, spanning over 12 districts in the neighbouring states of
Dilprastha, including the city of Dilprastha itself. The main aim was to
contain haphazard and unplanned urban growth by channelizing the flow
and direction of economic growth along more balanced and spatially
oriented paths.
9. As of 2020, with the largest and busiest metro network in Purabdesh the
urban area of Dilprastha is considered to have extended beyond
boundaries of the NCR. Development hallmarks of the capital city
include 3 airports (including 1 international airport), 4 important railway
stations and three inter-state bus terminals. Dilprastha has not only
become the largest commercial centre in northern Purabdesh, but also
boasts of second highest GDP amongst all the States and other Union
Territories in the country. Tourism has been a major source of revenue
for the capital city.
10.With the passage of time the city of Dilprastha has become a vast
conglomeration of commercial, industrial, unauthorised colonies,
resettlement colonies and unplanned housing. Increasing population and
pollution keep Dilprastha forever in the news. In the last two decades,
the pollution has soared to such levels that from the year 2015 onwards
Dilprastha has been consistently ranked amongst top three most
polluted cities in the world. Quality of ambient air in the whole NCR has
 become so hazardous that lung and respiratory diseases are on a
constant rise.
11.In the absence of any definite measures taken by the past governments
to prevent and control the increasing pollution in the NCR, the Hon’ble
Supreme Court of Purabdesh (“Supreme Court”) over the last two
decades, in several matters of public interest litigation (“PIL”) has passed
judgments/ orders to improve the situation of environment in the NCR.
12.Some remarkable decisions taken by the Supreme Court include
direction of conversion of all public transport in Dilprastha from petrol to
CNG, ban on use of plastic, stricter guidelines on environmental
clearances/compliances for construction activities in the NCR and
removal of industries from the city of directions and orders in the NCR.
13.As per a legal analysis Dilprastha. The successive governments have
always claimed to implement these landmark
14.The Hon’ble Supreme Court in its environment related judgments has
steadily shifted its focus from enforceability of fundamental rights of the
citizens to the fulfilment of fundamental duties by every citizen of the
country. The Constitution originally provided only for the fundamental
rights and the concerned safeguards thereof. Article 51A which
enumerates fundamental duties of citizens was added in the
Constitution, by way of an amendment in the year 1996 to inter alia
foster the sense of collective responsibility towards socio- environmental
development of the nation. 14. Some areas of Dilprastha along with four
surrounding states – Rajputana, Unnati Pradesh, Gharyana and
Sindhujab, which are commonly referred to as ‘Krishi Pradhan Pradesh’
(“KPP”), cover around 20% geographical area of Purabdesh and
contribute on an average 40-45% to the total food grains production of
the country and hold nearly 40% of the total population of the country. A
major section of population of KPP region is primarily dependent on the
income earned from high agricultural production because of fertile soils
and adoption of agricultural advances from post-independence Green
Revolution in the country.
15. KPP region has two crop cycles- one from May to September and
another from November to April. Around 60-70% of the total agricultural
land available in the KPP region is employed towards rice-wheat crop
 rotation. Harvesting of these food crops with combine harvesters is very
popular with the famers of this region. These combine harvesting
techniques in rice-wheat system leaves behind large quantities of straw
reside in the field.
16.Crop residue are burnt openly by the farmers to clear the filed for the
next sowing season. Scientific data shows that burning of straw leads to
emission of gases like CO2, CH4, CO, N2O, NOX, SO2 and large amount of
particulates which cause adverse impacts on environment and health.
17. To tackle the manifold rise of air pollution in the NCR due to large scale
stubble burning in the States forming KPP, the Central Government with
the help of State Governments is taking several steps. Some notable long
term policies framed in this regard include monetary incentives to
farmers to use the latest technologies (like installing artificial
intelligence, internet of things, soil cards etc.) in farming, to shift to
alternate methods of disposal of agricultural waste, to opt for biomass
utilization for power generation through co-firing in pulverised coal-fired
boilers etc. The government is also taking steps to popularize zero tillage
farming where the crop seed will be sown through drillers without prior
land preparation.
18. Despite taking such measures, there is no sign of reduction of harmful
pollutants in the air. To the contrary, from 2013 onwards, the last quarter
of every year has been witnessing very high level of pollutants in the
NCR. ‘Light Festival’, one of the most important religious festivals is
celebrated every year in the month of October across the whole
northern Purabdesh to commemorate the victory of Lord Vikrant over
the demon king Dashanan. The festival is celebrated with great pomp
and show, sweets are exchanged, houses & buildings decorated with
lights and crackers are burnt.
19. In October 2019, in the week following the celebration of ‘Light Festival’,
as per news reports, Air Quality Index (“AQI”) plunged to 'Severe' and
'Hazardous' categories in many stretches of NCR. On the night of Light
Festival, many areas in Dilprastha recorded an AQI of 999, beyond which
a reading is not possible. According to some experts this catastrophic
situation is attributable to the large-scale stubble burning done by the
farmers in the KPP region to clear the fields for wheat crop. However, a
 few argue that the sudden rise in air pollution is due to vast amount of
cracker burning on occasion of Light Festival and the humongous number
of vehicles plying on the roads of NCR.
20. Due to heavy smog in air of capital which was aggravated due to onset
of winters in the NCR, major airlines both domestic and international
suspended their flights for a week, schools and offices were shut down
for a month, an international cricket match series. between Purabdesh
and its rival country Nooristan got cancelled and government hospitals
reported a sudden increase in the cases of serious respiratory problems.
Around 50 people including some children were reported to have died
across the NCR in the last two weeks of October due to respiratory
problems.
21.Shut down of major economic activities in the capital severely affected
the national market. A news report dated November 5, 2019 published
in the most popular national daily ‘Purvi Express’ titled as “Dilprastha -
Heartland of Purabdesh is choking to death by every passing day”,
alarmed the people of the NCR. A lot of working class people living in the
NCR, fearing for their lives, left their jobs and returned to their home
towns.
22.Considering the gravity of the situation in the NCR, the Central
Government in consultation with the government of Dilprastha declared
a public health emergency in the capital city. As an immediate measure,
government of Dilprastha rolled out an Odd Even scheme (a traffic
rationing measure under which private vehicles with registration
numbers ending with an odd digit will be allowed on roads on odd dates
and those with an even digit on even dates), and ordered the industries
running in the NCR to suspend their operation for 15 days.
23. Further, in exercise of its powers under the Environment Protection Act,
1986 the Central government brought a notification dated November 10,
2019 (“Notification”) to be implemented with the immediate effect,
putting an absolute and immediate ban on the activities of stubble
burning and prescribing a fine of Rupees 1,00,000/- per incidence of
stubble burning by a farmer in NCR. As per the Notification, the existing
benefits under minimum support price scheme (“MSP Scheme”) will be
 withdrawn from such farmers who are found to be indulging even in a
single incidence of stubble burning.
24.In the aftermath of the Notification, KPP saw a huge outburst of farmers’
agitations. Reportedly, 7 farmers committed suicide as a mark of protest
against the Notification. The farmer groups are agitating that poor
farmers are bizarrely and conveniently seen as responsible for urban
pollution in NCR, and are forced to bear disproportionate costs of
switching to alternate means of stubble disposal.
25.An NGO known as “Kudreti Kheti Abhiyan” (“KK Abhiyan”) working in the
KPP region for the rights of farmers for the last 15 years, has filed a
public interest litigation before the Hon’ble Supreme Court under Article
32 of the Constitution inter alia for the issue of appropriate writ/ order/
direction quashing the Notification.
 STATEMENT OF ISSUES

ISSUE 1
Whether the Notification is arbitrary, disproportionate, and amounts to
violation of the fundamental right of the farmers to equality?

ISSUE 2
Whether the Notification amounts to violation of the fundamental right of the
farmers to life and livelihood?

ISSUE 3
Whether the State has failed in its duty and obligation to protect and improve
the environment?
 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS

ISSUE 1
It is most humbly submitted that the notification amounts to violation of the
fundamental right to equality of the farmers, and is arbitrary and
disproportionate. The notification creates an (i) unreasonable classification, as
there is (ii) no intelligible differentia and the (iii) classification does not have
any reasonable nexus with the object that is sought to be achieved, (iv) the
notification is also arbitrary and the punishment imposed on the farmers is
disproportionate.

ISSUE 2
It is most humbly submitted that the notification amounts to violation of the
fundamental right of the farmers to the life and livelihood. The right to life of
the farmers has been violated as the (i) farmers were deprived to live with
human dignity and were also (ii) deprived of their choices and liberty. (iii) The
notification violates principals of various international instruments. (iv)
Withdrawal of MSP and notification not being in accordance with Directive
Principles of State Policy also violates farmers rights to livelihood.

ISSUE 3
It is most humbly submitted the state us bound by its duty under national as
well as international law to protect and improve the environment. (i) The state
did not take effective precautionary measure to protect the environment and
ignored the environment in the course of development thereby (ii) violating
the principle of sustainable development. (iii) The state ignored the problem of
pollution for years and is now using farmers as scapegoats.
 ARGUMENTS ADVANCED

1. Whether the Notification is arbitrary, disproportionate, and amounts to

violation of the fundamental right of the farmers to equality?
It is humbly submitted by the petitioner that the notification brought by the
central govt. dated November 10, 2019 (hereinafter termed as notification):
[1] Is in gross violation of the Art. 14 of the constitution, and [2] The
punishment imposed is disproportionate to the farmers:
1.1 THE NOTIFICATION IN IN VIOLATION OF ART. 14
The constitution guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of
the laws. It is humbly submitted by the petitioner that the notification is a
gross violation of farmers’ fundamental right to equality. This has been
substantiated in a two-fold manner hereinafter:
1.1.1 There is no reasonable classification.
It is humbly submitted that Art. 14 requires that all persons similarly
circumstanced shall be treated alike both in terms of privileges conferred
and liabilities imposed. State of W.B. v. Anwar Ali Sarkar gave two conditions
for a legislative classification to be valid: [1] There should be an intelligible
differentia, [2] There should be a rational nexus between the classification
and the object sought by the act.
There is no intelligible differentia provided in the notification.
It is humbly submitted that Art. 14 permits reasonable classification for the
purpose of disposition. The subject matter of legislation should be a well-
defined class founded on an intelligible differentia which distinguishes that
subject matter from the others left out. Reliance in placed on Ram Dial v.
State of Punjab where Punjab Municipalities Act, 1911, empowered the
state to take a decision of disqualifying someone to contest the election,
without issuing a show-cause notice to the affected parties, and, required
the Govt. to provide an opportunity of hearing, the court struck down as
discriminatory.
It is submitted that various there are various factors other than stubble
burning, which are responsible for causing air pollution such as construction
and demolition activities, open dumping of waste/garbage, unpaved
roads/pits, road dust, garbage burning, traffic congestion.
It is submitted that the pollution in Dilprastha soared to such a level that it
was consistently ranked amongst the top three most polluted cities in the
world. There was a constant increase in lung and respiratory disease. The
notification imposed a fine of Rupees 1,00,000 per instance with withdrawal
from the MSP scheme making the farmers a separate class among all the
reasons of pollution. There is no reason to believe that the stubble burning
is causing maximum pollution out of all the reasons so as to impose
punishment on it however the notification has created a new classification
based on non-intelligible differentia.
Therefore, it is humbly submitted that the differentiation of stubble burning
by farmers from other reasons of pollution is segregation without any
rational or an intelligible differentia and therefore, is null and void.
There is no rational nexus between the classification and the object
sought by notification.
It is humbly submitted that for a classification to be valid, it must necessarily
satisfy two tests. First, the distinguishing rationale has to be based on just
objective. And secondly, the choice of differentiating one set of persons
from another must have a reasonable nexus to the objective sought to be
achieved.
It is submitted that Art.48 A states that the state shall endeavour to protect
and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of
the country. During the festival season, that is between October and
February, more than 40 recognized and other dangerous forms of
firecrackers are used.
It is also submitted that in October 2019, in the week following the
celebrations of the light festival, many areas in Dilprastha recorded an AQI
of 999, beyond which reading is not possible, which was due to the vast
amounts of crackers burning and the humongous number of vehicles plying
on the road of NCR. The aforesaid notification does not establish a rational
nexus between the classification and the object sought by the notification.
More than 60% of the population of Purabdesh is working in the agriculture
sector with reliance on the traditional methods of agriculture. Stubble
burning is a common phenomenon of the traditional method after the
combine harvesting techniques in rice-wheat crop rotation.
Therefore, it is humbly submitted that not only the classification is based on
unreasonable and arbitrary grounds, but also, there is no reasonable nexus
between the object sought by the notification.
1.1.2 The notification is in violation of natural justice
It is humbly submitted that wherever there is arbitrariness, whether it be of
the legislature, executive or of authority under Art.12 would spring into
action, and strike down the said action. The expression ‘arbitrarily’ means in
an unreasonable manner, as fixed or done capriciously or at pleasure,
without adequate determining principle, non-rational, or acting without
reason of judgement depending on the will alone. From a positivistic point
of view, equality is antithetic to arbitrariness.
It is submitted that the notification violates the natural justice of just, fair
and reasonable. In the case of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, and in
Union of India v. Tulsiram Patel, the court has held that non-observance of
the principles of natural justice in State action violates Art.14. It forbids any
arbitrary action which would tantamount to the denial of equality as
guaranteed by Art.14 of the constitution. The court must accordingly
interpose and quash the discriminatory action.
It is submitted that the notification was to be implemented with immediate
effect, putting an absolute and immediate ban on the activities of stubble
burning. The notification for the convenience of the government bizarrely
made the farmers responsible for the pollution in NCR. Poor and small
farmers who do not possess adequate resources to shift to alternate
methods of disposal of agricultural waste were completely neglected.
Therefore, it is humbly submitted that the notification is arbitrary and
violates the natural principle of Just, Fair and Reasonable, and is, therefore,
in violation of the fundamental right to equality guaranteed under Art. 14 of
the constitution.
1.2 THE PUNITIVE ACTIONS ON THE FARMERS ARE DISPROPORTIONATE
It is humbly submitted that the notification passed by the central
government dated November 10,2019, imposes disproportionate
punishment on the farmers.
It is submitted that in Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v.
Wednesbury corpn4r. the court devised a test, that even if one or the other
following conditions were satisfied viz. the order was contrary to the law, or
irrelevant factors were considered, or relevant factors were not considered
or the decision was one that no reasonable person could have taken.
It is submitted that an amount of fine should not be harsh or excessive. The
penalty imposed must be commensurate with the gravity of the
misconduct, and that any penalty disproportionate to the gravity of
misconduct would be violative of Art. 14. The common but differentiated
responsibilities but principle balances, on the one hand, the need for all
states to take responsibility for global environmental problems and, on the
other hand, the need to recognize the wide differences in levels of
economic development between states. The Supreme Court has held that
only “in exceptional and rare cases” where the “punishment imposed by the
disciplinary authority shocks the conscience of the court” can the court
interfere with the punishment.
It is submitted that 60% population of Purabdesh works in the agriculture
sector with the reliance on traditional methods of agriculture. The
constitution of Purabdesh declares Purabdesh to be a socialist republic,
assuring its citizens of justice, equality and liberty. KPP region has two crop
cycles one from May to September and another from November to April.
Farmers barely get much time between these crop cycle.
It is submitted that the Central Govt. with the help of state Govt. has taken
several steps which have not been implemented in totality. The
incompetence of the govt. is the reason why 7 farmers reportedly
committed suicide as a mark of protest against the notification after
protests in the KPP region. It is contended that the poor farmers are
bizarrely and conveniently seen as responsible for urban pollution in NCR,
and are forced to bear disproportionate costs of switching to alternate
means of stubble disposal.
It is submitted that not all the farmers are rich and have large farmlands.
There is no proper mechanism provided as to whether a difference will be
allowed considering the financial status of the farmers.
It is therefore, humbly submitted from the side of the petitioners that the
notification is disproportionate, arbitrary, and in violation of farmers’
fundamental right to equality guaranteed under the constitution.

2. Whether the Notification amounts to violation of the fundamental

right of the farmers to life and livelihood?
It is humbly submitted by the petitioner that the notification brought by
the central govt. dated November 10, 2019, is: [2.1] In violation of
farmers’ right to life and [2.2] In violation of farmers right to livelihood.