New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has declared that cutting down a large number of trees is a graver offense than taking human life, as it upheld a penalty of ₹1 lakh per tree against a man who illegally felled 454 trees in the Taj Trapezium Zone.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the plea of the accused, Shiv Shankar Agarwal, emphasizing that environmental violations must not be taken lightly. “There should be no leniency in environmental cases. Destroying hundreds of trees is worse than killing a person,” the bench observed.
The court pointed out that it would take at least a century for the lost green cover to regenerate, reinforcing the severity of the act. It accepted the findings of the central empowered committee (CEC), which recommended the ₹1 lakh per tree penalty for the illegal deforestation carried out at Dalmia Farms in Mathura-Vrindavan.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Agarwal, acknowledged his client’s mistake and requested a reduction in the fine, but the court remained firm. However, the bench allowed Agarwal to undertake replantation at a designated site and stated that the contempt proceedings against him would be closed only upon compliance.
Additionally, the Supreme Court revoked its 2019 order that had removed the requirement for prior approval to cut trees on private and non-forest land within the Taj Trapezium Zone, reinstating stricter environmental protections.
