Chandigarh, May 9 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) not to take coercive action against the Barnala unit of Rajya Sabha member Rajinder Gupta's company Trident Limited, without giving it 30 days to rectify any deficiencies. In a related development, the Punjab government also assured the high court that it won't take coercive steps against another RS member Sandeep Pathak, who moved the court seeking copies of purported FIRs registered against him in Punjab, without court's permission till Monday. The state's counsel had initially told the court that he had no information regarding FIRs. However, as Pathak's counsel demanded interim protection, the state gave an assurance against arrest. A bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry passed the directions while hearing petitions related to Trident Group. Gupta is the chairman emeritus of the company. Both Gupta and Pathak were among the seven Rajya Sabha members who quit the AAP and joined the BJP on April 24. Disposing of a plea filed by Trident managing director Deepak Nanda, the court held that the "PPCB had failed to demonstrate any emergent environmental threat or the presence of poisonous effluents at the company's unit." The court said that in the absence of any immediate environmental crisis, the company should be given a reasonable opportunity to rectify "minor deficiencies" before any closure or coercive action is initiated. The bench also granted liberty to the petitioner company to approach the National Green Tribunal in case any coercive steps are taken by the PPCB. "As such, this court is of the considered view that since respondent No.2/Board has failed to show any emergent situation where any stream, well, land or environment is being polluted by poisonous effluents, it would be appropriate to allow respondent No.2/Board to take coercive steps only after affording reasonable opportunity of 30 days to the petitioner company for rectifying any minor deficiencies," the order said. The bench also directed the Punjab government to ensure no harm comes to Gupta and his family in Punjab after he challenged the withdrawal of his Punjab Police security cover, in a separate petition. The legal dispute stems from a PPCB raid at Trident's Barnala unit on April 30, days after Gupta resigned from the AAP and joined the BJP along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs including Pathak on April 24. In its petition, the company termed the inspection arbitrary and malafide, alleging that the timing of the raid pointed to "extraneous and political considerations" linked to Gupta's change in political affiliation. Senior advocate Munisha Gandhi, appearing for the company, argued that the sudden change in regulatory approach within weeks of a clean inspection on April 13 suggested "political vendetta.". The petition also alleged procedural irregularities during sample collection. During the hearing, senior advocate DS Patwalia, appearing for the PPCB, rejected the allegations and contended that where likelihood of a grave injury to the environment is palpable, then the need to provide prior opportunity of being heard can be waived. The court, however, observed that the timing of the raid, close to Gupta's switch from the AAP to the BJP, made the company's apprehension of political vendetta "reasonably palpable"."...the apprehension in the mind of the petitioner company that the raid conducted by respondent No.2/Board on April 30 stems from political vendetta, appears reasonably palpable," the order read....