BNS Section 280: Making Atmosphere Noxious To Health

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 280

This section is applicable to any person within the sovereign borders of India, whether citizen, resident or otherwise. It deals with the offence of pollution. Let us break down the section to get a better understanding of it.

Offence

This section provides for the act of vitiating the atmosphere to the extent of making it noxious. Let us break this down the three important terms.

Vitiating - refers to performing any act that disrupts the natural composition of the atmosphere which is considered essential for human survival.

Atmosphere - refers to natural elements, such as water, air, soil etc., that are common public utility and shared by everyone for individual and mutual existence.

Noxious - refers to overusing, exploiting or abusing a resource to such an extent that not only does it render the resource useless towards its intended use, but also becomes harmful to anyone who consumes it or is exposed to it.

The above action shall be considered an offence under the provisions of Section 280 if it causes harm to the health of:

Persons dwelling in the affected atmosphere

Persons carrying on business in the neighbourhood of such atmosphere

Persons passing along a public way that is exposed to such atmosphere

It must be noted that such action must be done voluntarily. In other words, the person vitiating the atmosphere must be aware that his or her action is vitiating the atmosphere.

Punishment

Any person who vitiates the common atmosphere to the extent of noxiousness, consequently affecting the health and quality of life in the surroundings, shall be punished with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.

The above actions may not be an offence under this section if:

The offender is forced or coerced into vitiating the atmosphere

The offender is a minor or not of sane mind.

The offender was not aware that his or her actions were causing the noxiousness

The action was not voluntary

However, there may be other sections under the BNS under which the above actions can be prosecuted and while they may be disqualified under the provisions of this section, such actions will still be punishable under the provisions of those respective sections of the BNS.

Illustration

Z sets up a factory in a neighbourhood. However, he is required to dispose of the chemical waste from the factory through a prescribed mechanism, which is slightly expensive. To cut costs, Z disposes the waste in an isolated dumping ground close by and covers it up. It is later found that the chemical waste had seeped into the soil and polluted the groundwater, thereby turning the drinking water in the wells of the neighbourhood noxious. Z is arrested and prosecuted under the provisions of Section 280.

It may be noted that Z may not have necessarily known the dangers of dumping chemical waste. However, given that Z was prescribed a mechanism to rid the waste due to its harmful properties, it cannot be said that Z was not aware of the harmful effects of the chemical. Even if he was ignorant of the consequences, it was out of his own negligence which cannot be recused under the BNS.