In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has called for a personal affidavit from the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena, who also serves as the chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), concerning the alleged unauthorized tree felling in Delhi’s Ridge area. This directive was issued during a hearing on Wednesday by a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
The court is currently addressing a contempt case against the DDA and other parties involved in the alleged tree cutting within this ecologically sensitive zone. The Chief Justice highlighted the need for clear responses from the LG on several points, including the details and timeline of discussions about permissions for tree felling, the moment the LG was informed about the necessity for such permissions, the remedial actions undertaken, and the measures taken against officers who violated the Supreme Court’s orders aimed at preserving the Ridge’s pristine condition.
This legal scrutiny follows previous proceedings where a different bench, composed of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, issued a criminal contempt notice against DDA Vice-chairperson Subhasish Panda. The notice was based on allegations of permitting large-scale tree felling in the southern Ridge’s Satbari area for road construction, leading to significant ecological damage.
The situation was compounded by what was described as a “misleading affidavit” filed by the vice-chairperson, which had previously drawn the court’s ire. Concerns about potential judicial conflicts arising from separate benches hearing related matters led another bench, featuring Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra, and K V Viswanathan, to emphasize the importance of judicial propriety to avoid contradictory orders.
