A division bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud has asked the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) to reconsider its recommendation to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) with respect to the project as expeditiously as possible.
The court quashed and set aside permissions on the ground that the company had failed to disclose to the SEAC that it had filed a similar application, seeking permission before the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, which was pending at the time.
Justice Chandrachud also noted that since the SEIAA ruling was based on the SEAC recommendation, that would also be vitiated.
The court said in their order that the decision of the SEIAA "does not reflect application of mind."
The court passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed by a group named Navlakh Umbre Paryavaran Parisar Vikas Sangh - a group of villagers who would be directly affected by the Hiranandani Group project.
In its order, the court also took note of the fact that the decision to grant environment permissions was taken in the absence of petitioners.
The court will decide tomorrow whether to grant a stay on its order to allow the company to appeal in the apex court.
