Through the instant petition, the learned counsel for the petitioner has made the following prayer, which is as under: "It is, therefore, most humbly and respectfully prayed that instant criminal petition may kindly be accepted and impugned order dated 16.09.2021 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Okara, may kindly be declared illegal and by setting aside the same order passed by learned Respondent No. 2 dated 17.07.2021 may kindly be upheld and application of the petitioner be ordered to be considered as pending before the learned Respondent No. 2 in the larger interest of justice.
It is further prayed that operation of the impugned order dated 16.09.2021 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Okara may kindly be suspended meanwhile and till the final disposal of the titled criminal petition."
2. I have heard learned counsel for the parties, have gone through the Notification No. 15/RHC dated 05-04-2012 issued by the Lahore High Court Lahore and have also given anxious consideration to the submission made by the respective parties at the bar. A bare perusal of the notification shows that only the learned Senior Civil Judges-cum-Judicial Magistrates in the Province can only try the offences in question, as Environmental Magistrates, under Section 17 of the said Act, and implication of the said notification was with immediate effect and environmental Courts notified by this Court are still in force. In exercise of the power conferred by Section 24 of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), 1997, the High Court issued the Notification No. 15/RHC dated 05-04-2012, empowering learned Senior Civil Judges-cum-Judicial Magistrates only to try certain specified offences, as Environmental Magistrates, under Section 17 of the said Act.
Section 24 of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), 1997 reads as under: Section 24) Jurisdiction of Environmental Magistrates (1). Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act v. of 1898), or any other law for the time being in force, but subject to the provisions of this Act, all contraventions punishable under sub-section (2) of Section 17 shall exclusively be triable by a judicial Magistrate of the first class as Environmental Magistrate especially empowered in this behalf by the High Court.
(2) An environmental Magistrate shall be competent to impose any punishment specified in sub- section (2) and (4) of Section 17.
(3) An Environmental Magistrate shall not take cognizance of an offence triable under sub-section
(1) except on a complaint in writing by:
(a) the Federal Agency, Provincial Agency, or Government Agency or local council; and
(b) any aggrieved person.
3. In view of the Section 17 and Notification supra, I am of the view that the order dated 17-07-2021 passed by the learned Special Judicial Magistrate, Depalpur was without jurisdiction as he was not a Senior Civil Judge and was not competent to deal with such cases and order dated 17-07-2021 passed by the learned Special Judicial Magistrate, Depalpur was rightly set aside by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Okara on 16.09.2021.
4. For the reasons mentioned above, as well as the learned counsel for the petitioner has not been able to point out any infirmity, illegality or jurisdictional error in the impugned order. The upshot of the above discussion is that the instant petition is without any substance, which is dismissed.