SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has refused to quash a water pollution case against meat exporter Al Kabeer Exports Pvt Ltd, which is accused of burying animal waste in pits at its unit near Hyderabad and contaminating nearby ponds, wells and groundwater.
In an order passed on October 28, Justice N Tukaramji held that the complaint by the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) and the material backing it made out a prima facie case under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. The case must therefore go to trial, the judge said.
Whether the allegations are true can be decided only on the evidence, it said, adding that a High Court cannot hold a “mini-trial” while hearing a plea to quash criminal proceedings.
Noting that the case has been pending since 2017, the judge directed the trial court to take it up on priority and avoid unnecessary adjournments.
What the TGPCB alleged
The case relates to the company’s meat processing unit at Rudraram village in erstwhile Medak district, now part of Sangareddy district.
In his complaint, the board’s environmental engineer alleged that the company buried dead animals and animal waste in pits instead of using prescribed disposal methods. This, he said, violated the consent order issued to the unit on September 3, 2015. Water around the unit was also allegedly contaminated with animal blood.
The TGPCB acted after the District Legal Services Authority made a representation in December 2016 and Eenadu carried a report on the unit.
It relied on lab tests of water from borewells and a nearby drain. These allegedly showed high levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), both common markers of water pollution.
The board also cited letters from the company that allegedly mentioned removing about 40 tonne of buried waste and pumping some 30 kilolitres of stagnant water into its effluent treatment plant.
What Al Kabeer said
The company told the High Court that it held all statutory permissions and ran an effluent treatment plant. Treated water was used for fish farming and for irrigating land within the premises.
Dead animals were processed into poultry-feed additives and biodegradable waste was composted, it said.
The company also argued that the magistrate had acted arbitrarily by ordering its prosecution while at the same time giving it time to comply with the TGPCB’s directions. It said the board had already encashed its Rs 50 lakh bank guarantee.
What the High Court said
The court said the TGPCB’s directions of December 24, 2016, and March 2, 2017, which gave the company time to comply, did not wipe out criminal liability for any violation committed earlier.
It clarified, however, that high TDS or COD readings do not by themselves prove an offence. It also said the role of each director and manager would have to be examined separately under Section 47 of the Act.
The TGPCB’s complaint has also led to action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In 2025, the ED filed a money laundering chargesheet against the company and its director, alleging the firm earned Rs 61 lakh through the pollution offences.
SOURCE : SIASAT
