The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed contempt proceedings against officials of the Delhi Development Authority over the large-scale felling of trees in the national capital’s Ridge area for a road widening project in February 2024, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and NK Singh held that the officials had committed contempt by failing to seek the top court’s approval, as mandated under a 1996 ruling, before allowing the tree-felling.

“This is a case of institutional missteps and administrative overreach,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as having said.

However, citing “overwhelming public interest”, the bench refrained from initiating contempt proceedings against the Delhi Development Authority officials and its former Vice Chairperson Subhashish Panda, The Hindu reported.

The trees in the protected ecological area in Delhi were chopped to construct a broader access road to the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences, a new tertiary hospital primarily for paramilitary personnel, their families, pensioners and the public, according to the newspaper.

The contempt proceedings had been initiated when the matter was being heard by benches led by Justice BR Gavai, who is now the chief justice, and Justice AS Oka, who has retired, Bar and Bench said.

The ruling on Wednesday also comes as a relief for Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. Although he was not a party to the contempt proceedings, a bench previously led by Oka had expressed concern about his alleged involvement in the unauthorised tree-felling.

The case revolved around allegations that the Delhi Development Authority allowed the cutting of more than 600 trees in the Delhi Ridge forest area without securing mandatory approval from the court.

In October, Saxena, who is also the chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority, told the court that he did not know that its permission was needed to carry out large-scale tree cutting in the area. He was responding to a court’s order seeking an affidavit from him in connection with the case.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the court issued directions on remedial measures to be taken by the Delhi government and the development authority in the matter.

The directions include setting up of a three-member committee to examine the compensatory afforestation plan and the submission of periodical progress reports to the court.

The development authority was also directed to finish the construction of the approach road to the hospital promptly and explore the possibility of ensuring thick coverage of trees on both sides of the road, Bar and Bench said.

The bench also issued a fine of Rs 25,000 on all the officials of the Delhi Development Authority who were found responsible for the unauthorised tree felling. “This is in addition to any other penalty imposed by an internal inquiry committee,” the court said.

Further, the bench ordered that a due identification exercise had to be carried out to find out if there were affluent persons who benefitted from the road construction and may be made to pay as well.