New Delhi. Chief Justice (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Monday recused himself from hearing petitions related to alleged illegal cutting of hundreds of trees in the Delhi Ridge area. Earlier, the then retired Chief Justice D.Y. A bench headed by Chandrachud referred the matter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. A personal affidavit was sought from Saxena. The bench had also directed initiation of contempt proceedings against some officials of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
At the beginning, CJI Khanna said, I would like to tell one thing that while being the Chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), I had gone to Patna and visited the jails there along with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for me to hear the petition….” The bench ordered these petitions to be listed before a bench of which the Chief Justice is not a member, in the week beginning November 27. On November 7, the apex court had asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) about the steps taken to restore the pre-felling condition of trees in the Delhi Ridge area. Several hundred trees were reportedly cut down illegally in the ridge area.
The court had also asked how much trees had been planted by the authorities there. The bench had asked whether there was any independent mechanism in place to ascertain the number of trees planted. However, the bench did not pass any order on November 8, the last working day of the then CJI Chandrachud. The ridge is an extension of the Aravalli mountain range in Delhi and is a plateau forest area. For administrative reasons it is divided into four regions – South, South-Central, Central and North. The total area of all four is approximately 7,784 hectares. The bench is considering a plea seeking action against the guilty officials for allegedly illegal felling of trees in the area.
The court had asked, “What are you doing to restore the previous condition in the ridge?” The bench had said, “We want to know how many trees were cut and what is being done to restore the previous condition in the ridge and for afforestation.” What is being done?” Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, said that according to a report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), a total of 1,670 trees were cut. The petitioner has accused the officers of contempt. However, DDA had earlier said that the number of trees cut was 642. The apex court had issued a contempt notice to the DDA vice-chairman over cutting of trees for the construction of an approach road. The bench had said that 3,340 trees should be planted in the ridge and 100 times the number of trees for each tree cut should be planted.
