Supreme Court Takes Up Contempt Case Against DDA Vice-Chairman Over Tree Felling in Delhi's Southern Ridge

The contempt case against DDA Vice-Chairman Subhasish Panda for large-scale tree felling in Satbari, Delhi, will be heard by a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. This follows Supreme Court proceedings where a criminal contempt notice was issued against Panda for allegedly misleading the court.

The contempt case against Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Vice-Chairman Subhasish Panda regarding the large-scale felling of trees in the southern Ridge's Satbari area is now set to be heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.

The matter, previously considered by a Supreme Court bench including Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, has now been allocated to a new bench according to the court's cause list.

Justice Oka's bench had initially issued a criminal contempt notice against Panda, citing the large-scale tree felling allowed for constructing a road between Chhattarpur and South Asian University, along with a misleading affidavit presented in court.

Unhappy with conflicting orders from multiple benches, a separate bench led by Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra, and K V Viswanathan noted the need for judicial propriety and suggested that all matters related to ridge tree felling should be consolidated before one bench.

Earlier, on March 4, the court had refused DDA's vague application to fell 1,051 trees, stressing the necessity of examining alternatives to protect the environment and ensuring a minimal number of trees are felled while carrying out public work.

(With inputs from agencies.)