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Title: PROF DR SANJEEV BAGAI & ORS. v. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI THROUGH ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY (ENVIRONMENT AND FOREST) & ORS.

Decided on: 29.05.2023, W.P.(C) 2317/2023 & CM APPL. 8779/2023

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE NAJMI WAZIRI

Facts of the Case

The high court in Delhi has ruled that the Delhi Government’s Guidelines prohibiting the need for permission from the Tree Officer before routinely cutting branches of trees with a girth of up to 15.7 cm are invalid.

Considering the foregoing, no tree cutting or trimming will be allowed in Delhi outside of the DPT Act. In a ruling issued on May 29 and made public today, Justice Najni Waziri stated, “It will be open to the respondents to frame guidelines and/or rules as may be requisite.”

The recommendations were halted on May 10 after a judge said they would amount to “creeping legalised genocide of trees.” According to Justice Waziri, the only legal basis upon which a pruning permit can be issued is Article 9 of the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994. Advocate Aditya N. Prasad, designated as amicus curiae in the case, made the comments as the court ruled on a petition filed by Professor Dr. Sanjeev Bagai and others challenging the constitutionality of the Delhi Government’s Department of Forests’ Guidelines. The court expressed concern over the reasoning behind the rules and inquired as to how the number of 15.7 cms was arrived at, observing that the Delhi Government should develop a fair system to deal with the request for falling of trees, including their trimming, and pruning.

How did you arrive at that number? Where do you find that number in the scientific literature? Why do trees of different kinds in Delhi all have to have their branches pruned to the same depth? The court noted that some tree species naturally have a narrow trunk girth, but added that any tree can be drastically trimmed down to the point where it resembles a single pole.

When it comes to tree pruning, Justice Waziri clarified that the Department of Forests and Wildlife’s Guidelines are more of an “informal organizational manual to assist the Officers of Ministry of Forests and Animals and are not a part of any statute.”

Courts Analysis and Decision

The DPT Act’s main purpose is to protect trees. Cutting, girding, or lopping a tree requires authorization, which should not be granted simply because it is requested. However, the court ruled that the Guidelines do allow the trimming of tree branches with a girth/circumference of up to 15.7 cm. Furthermore, “How can there be rationale for such pruning?” was added. These are egregious cases of people abusing the Guidelines’ authority to trim trees and tree branches up to 15.7 centimetres in circumference. Justice Waziri said that the Guidelines “ride roughshod” over the court’s objections and allow for the general cutting of tree branches up to 15.7 cms in girth.

The court said that the Guidelines were intended to eliminate any possibility of a Tree Officer conducting an inspection or assessment of the trees’ health in order to determine whether pruning was necessary. It is not known or mentioned what scientific process was used to determine that the pruning stopped at a circumference of 15.7 centimetres. Obviously, it is just a wild assumption. The Guidelines do not constitute either a new law or a change to an existing one. They are prohibited from weakening the requirements of the law. The court said, “The powers, objectives, and mandate of a statute cannot be limited, undone, or transgressed by a Regulation or Rule which is a creature of that statute.”

The court found that the Guidelines are unlawful and capricious since they run counter to the DPT Act. Therefore, any supposed or given authority to prune under the Guidelines is meaningless and must always be non-Est the court ruled that the Guidelines allowing routine cutting of branches of trees up to 15.7 cm in girth without the express prior approval of the Tree Officer should be nullified. Regarding the advantage of Tree Officials DCF as well as other Officers of the Forest Department, Justice Waziri ordered the Delhi Government to organize refresher training courses at the Delhi Judicial Academy on the conduct of hearings using the hybrid model-filing of requests, answers, etc. 

Judgment- click here to review the judgment

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Written by- Anushka Satwani