Overview

• The apex court found DDA officials guilty of criminal contempt for cutting about 1,100 trees in February 2024 to widen the Ridge approach road to the CAPFIMS hospital despite its March 4 order banning the felling.
• Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh classified the breach as an “administrative misjudgment” rather than malafide intent given the project’s public health imperative.
• All responsible DDA officers, excluding the chairperson and vice-chairperson, must each pay a Rs 25,000 fine while proceedings against ex-vice-chairman Subhashish Panda were closed.
• The court directed the DDA to execute compensatory planting on 185 acres under a three-member expert committee and submit periodic progress reports.
• A one-time levy on affluent residents who benefited from the widened road was authorized and future ecological orders must cite any pending Supreme Court proceedings.