Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 · Chapter IV: Miscellaneous
Section 19: Cognizance of offences
No court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a complaint made by,—
(a) the Central Government or any authority or officer authorised in this behalf by that Government; or
[(aa) adjudicating officer or any officer authorised by him in this behalf;]
(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.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 14 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 19
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Vanashakti v. Union of India
Whether the 2017 Notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in the context of the EIA Notification 2006 for grant of ex post facto environmental clearances (EC) is legal and…
- D. Swamy v. Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and Ors
- M/S Pahwa Plastics Pvt. Ltd. and Anr v. Dastak Ngo and Ors.
- Electrosteel Steels Limited v. Union of India and Ors. Etc
- Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India & Ors.
- The Goa Foundation v. M/S Sesa Sterlite Ltd. & Ors.