The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority and Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, to submit a personal affidavit, stating therein whether he was informed about the need to obtain the Supreme Court’s permission before the proposed felling of nearly 1,100 trees in both forest and non-forest areas of the Southern Ridge in Chhatarpur during his site visit on February 3, 2024, for the widening of the road.
Trees were allegedly cut illegally to widen the road leading to the super specialty hospital designated for members of the central paramilitary forces and South Asian University (SAARC University). The DDA approached the Supreme Court to seek its nod for felling the trees only after they had been cut. The top court denied the permission.
The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena, had visited the site of road widening on February 3 and thereafter the felling of trees had started.
Granting a week’s time to file a personal affidavit by Tuesday, October 22, 2024, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra asked Saxena to clarify whether he was aware of the requirement to obtain the Supreme Court’s permission for tree felling. The court also inquired about the steps he took in accordance with that requirement.
Conversely, if he was not aware of the mandatory requirement to obtain the Supreme Court’s permission before felling the trees, the court sought what steps were taken for the “remediation and restoration” of the ecological damage caused by the illegal felling of 1,100 full-grown trees.
The court noted that the material on record was a little “ambiguous” and it needed some factual clarifications.
The court further asked Saxena about the steps that have been taken to identify the officers behind the filing of an application before the Supreme Court seeking its nod to cut the trees while suppressing the fact that trees have already been felled.
The application for the felling of trees was rejected by the Supreme Court on March 4, 2024.
The top court further asked Saxena to state whether any disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against the officials involved and whether, in his capacity as the DDA Chairperson, he believes that criminal action should be taken against them.
Chief Justice Chandrachud told senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Lieutenant Governor Saxena, “Before we take action (against these officers), let action be taken by the DDA.”
The court made it clear that the Lieutenant Governor shall take steps to affix accountability in respect of any act of omission or commission by the officials or any third parties involved in the felling of trees.
The court noted Mahesh Jethmalani’s submission that Lieutenant Governor Saxena had visited the site on February 3 to expedite the road widening process for better access to the hospital to treat wounded personnel of central paramilitary forces.
The top court was hearing a plea by Delhi resident Bindu Kapurea, an NGO, and others, alleging that trees were felled despite a March 4 top court order denying permission to the DDA and that the fact of the tree-cutting was concealed from the court.
In May, the top court initiated a suo motu contempt case against DDA Vice-Chairman Subhasish Panda for felling of trees in violation of its orders.
In June, a bench noted that the Lieutenant Governor, in his capacity as the DDA Chairperson, had approved the proposal for cutting the trees and also visited the site in question.
The bench then directed the Vice-Chairman of the DDA to inform the court whether there was any record of the Lieutenant Governor’s visit to the site.