Piramal Pharma Ltd has moved the Supreme Courtroom towards a Gujarat Air pollution Management Board order directing the instant closure of its Dahej manufacturing unit over alleged environmental violations.
The corporate can also be contesting a course permitting the encashment of a ₹15 lakh financial institution assure.
The plea is slated to be heard on 9 February earlier than a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, together with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria.
On 5 February, the Gujarat excessive courtroom refused to grant reduction to the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm.
Piramal Pharma’s Dahej facility, positioned within the Gujarat Industrial Improvement Company industrial space, is among the firm’s 10 manufacturing websites in India and produces key beginning supplies (KSMs) for advanced hospital generics such because the inhaled anaesthetic sevoflurane, forming a part of a vertically built-in inhalation anaesthesia chain that’s accomplished at its Digwal plant.
The Dahej facility is a World Well being Group-Good Manufacturing Practices (WHO-GMP) compliant manufacturing plant.
The corporate, in an change submitting on 4 February, mentioned the monetary and operational affect of the plant closure was “not ascertainable at this cut-off date”.
Piramal’s advanced hospital generics enterprise clocked a income of ₹1,948 crore within the first 9 months of 2025-26, marginally up by 1% year-on-year.
The dispute
The Gujarat Air pollution Management Board’s motion adopted an incident involving the alleged unlawful dumping of hazardous waste.
The regulator mentioned that on 30 January 2026, a tanker carrying spent hydrochloric acid left Piramal Pharma’s Dahej facility for supply to a licensed waste therapy unit in Surendranagar district. Whereas the journey usually takes 5 to 6 hours, villagers in Gandhinagar district allegedly noticed the identical tanker dumping chemical waste right into a water canal within the early hours of 31 January.
Based mostly on native complaints, surveillance inputs and route knowledge, the air pollution board concluded that the tanker had deviated from its authorised route. Holding Piramal Pharma accountable because the generator of the hazardous waste, the regulator initiated emergency motion and issued a show-cause discover, adopted by the closure order on 3 February.
The board ordered the instant shutdown of all manufacturing operations on the Dahej plant. It additionally directed the stoppage of electrical energy and water provide, apart from restricted use wanted for secure shutdown, and prohibited using captive energy and diesel generator units.
The air pollution physique additional requested the corporate to furnish a ₹15 lakh financial institution assure for one 12 months and warned that failure to conform may result in penalties, together with encashment of the assure.
The corporate challenged the shutdown earlier than the Gujarat excessive courtroom, denying any unlawful dumping. The corporate relied on GPS monitoring knowledge, together with data obtainable on the air pollution board’s personal monitoring system, to argue that the tanker was by no means close to the canal in Gandhinagar.
In response to Piramal Pharma, the tanker was stationary at Bagodara, a location on the authorised route, as a result of the motive force had stopped to relaxation.
The corporate additionally argued that it was not given a correct probability to clarify its place and mentioned shutting down the complete plant was extreme, particularly when the alleged dumping concerned a third-party transporter.
On 5 February, the Gujarat excessive courtroom dismissed the petition, holding that the air pollution board was empowered to order instant closure in instances involving a danger of great environmental hurt.
The courtroom mentioned it couldn’t look at disputed information akin to tanker motion within the writ petition and suggested Piramal Pharma to strategy the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal.