Rajasthan HC Demands Compliance Report on Jodhpur Dyeing Units Pollution After State Authorities Ignore Own Orders
The Rajasthan High Court directed state authorities to explain why they failed to act on their own orders of October 2025 addressing poisonous water discharge by illegal dyeing and printing units in Jodhpur housing colonies.
A Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur, comprising Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur and Justice Chandra Shekhar Sharma, expressed sharp displeasure on 7 July 2026 over the complete inaction of state authorities in a public interest litigation concerning pollution caused by illegal dyeing and printing units operating inside residential colonies of Jodhpur. Despite two opportunities for compliance, the respondents had neither filed any reply before the court nor acted on their own letters and orders dated 24 October 2025 and 28 October 2025. The bench directed the authorities to forthwith implement those self-issued directions and to place a compliance report by 14 July 2026.
The Dispute Before the High Court
The PIL, registered as D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 2906/2026, was filed by petitioner Shailendra Bhandari. The petition raised what the court described on 24 March 2026 as “a very important and relevant question involving the pollution caused in the city of Jodhpur.”
The specific concern was the discharge of polluted and poisonous water by units engaged in dyeing and printing of clothes. These units, according to the petitioner's counsel Mr. Moti Singh, were operating illegally inside housing colonies, making immediate action necessary to curb the resulting pollution.
When the petition was first heard on 24 March 2026, the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board through its Member Secretary was impleaded as party respondent No. 7 on an oral request by the petitioner's counsel. Notice was issued to all respondents. Mr. Sajjan Singh Rathore, learned Additional Advocate General, accepted notice on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 to 4 and 7. Counsel for respondent Nos. 5 and 6 also entered appearance. The respondents sought short time to complete instructions, which the court granted, listing the matter for 6 April 2026.
A Pattern of Non-Response
When the matter was taken up on 6 April 2026, the respondents had still not filed any reply. They again sought additional time. The court extended that time and listed the matter for 7 July 2026.
On 7 July 2026, the position remained unchanged. No response had been filed by any respondent. No action had been reported as having been taken on the ground. The bench noted that the respondents had not acted even on their own letters and orders dated 24 October 2025 and 28 October 2025 — directions that the state authorities had themselves issued regarding the problem.
The court recorded that it was “at loss to understand” this inaction, given that it had already sensitised the respondents about the seriousness of the issue. Despite that sensitisation and despite two rounds of time extensions, the expected action had not followed.
The Court's Reasoning
The bench's concern centred on a specific and telling fact: the respondent authorities had themselves issued orders in October 2025 contemplating action against the illegal units. Those self-issued directions remained unimplemented for months, even after the PIL brought the issue to judicial notice and the court had pressed for compliance.
By directing the respondents to explain their non-compliance with their own letters and orders, the court was in effect asking the state to account not just for ignoring judicial directions but for ignoring its own administrative decisions. This framing shaped the direction that followed: the authorities were asked both to justify the inaction and to implement the October 2025 orders immediately, without waiting for the next date.
Outcome
The Division Bench directed the respondent authorities to explain why no action had been taken as contemplated in their own letters and orders dated 24 October 2025 and 28 October 2025. Separately, and without waiting for that explanation, the court directed the respondents to act upon those orders forthwith. A compliance report is to be placed before the court on 14 July 2026, the date on which the matter has been listed next.