Aarey forest case: No more trees to be axed, orders SC

New Delhi: A special bench of the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to ensure that no trees are further axed at Mumbai’s Aarey Colony.
A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Ashok Bhushan directed the government to maintain the status quo and said it would further hear all the petitions in the matter on October 21.
The court passed the directive after hearing a suo moto PIL based on a letter written by a group of law students to the court against the felling of trees.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the bench that no trees will be further cut in the Aarey Colony. He told the court that the people who were arrested for protesting against Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) action were released. “In case those are still not released shall be released immediately,” Mehta assured the court.
The court also asked Mehta to include the Ministry of Forest and Environment as a party in the matter.
Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde was representing the group of law students’ who sent a letter to Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, prompting him to set up a special bench to hear the matter.