On June 4, 2025, the Supreme Court’s vacation bench declined to urgently hear a plea against the alleged felling of 875 trees in Himachal Pradesh.
The issue was raised by the counsel for the applicant, who informed the bench comprising Justice PK Mishra and Justice AG Masih that an intervention application had been filed in the already pending TN Godavarman Case. The plea aimed to immediately halt the cutting of trees taking place in the state.
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The counsel urged the bench for immediate action, emphasizing:
“Trees are being cut down today itself.”
However, the bench made it clear that it could not entertain the request. Justice Mishra informed the lawyer that no junior bench had been authorised to allow urgent mentions.
“We are not the senior bench, none of us is the senior. You mention before the registry, the registry will seek instruction from Hon’ble CJI… the matter is not before us and we are not authorised also to entertain any mentioning,”
said Justice PK Mishra.
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When the counsel highlighted that Justice AG Masih is a part of the bench dealing with environment-related matters in the Godavarman case, Justice Mishra responded:
“Justice Masih is also not authorised. I have seen the authorisation.”
The court firmly stated that the proper procedure should be followed, and any urgency must be communicated to the Registry, which can then consult the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for further directions.
This development shows the procedural limits of vacation benches, especially when authorisation from the senior-most authorities is required for entertaining urgent issues—even in sensitive matters like environmental protection.
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The issue of tree felling in forest-rich Himachal Pradesh remains pending, now awaiting further movement through the official channels.
