India, May 20 -- The Supreme Court on Monday castigated the Delhi government for its failure to fill posts in the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), ordering all 204 vacancies -- of a sanctioned strength of 344 -- to be filled by September 30, 2025.

A bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka, while hearing a suo motu contempt petition, observed, "We cannot tolerate laxity shown by the Delhi government, especially when Delhi is worst affected by air pollution at least for three months." The court initiated proceedings on May 8 by summoning the Delhi chief secretary after being informed that 55% posts in DPCC lay vacant.

Describing the situation as a "sorry state of affairs", the bench noted that the DPCC-essential for enforcing pollution-...