Delhi High Court Holds Man Guilty Of Contempt For Obtaining Permission To Cut Tree Based On 'Forged Documents'

The Delhi High Court has held a man, a private builder, guilty of contempt for obtaining permission to cut a tree in national capital's Lajpat Nagar area on the basis of “forged and fabricated documents” from the forest department.

Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that the man obtained the permission despite a judicial order passed in July 2021 directing the Tree Officer and the Deputy Conservator of Forest to ensure that the tree in question is not fell or harmed in any manner.

“The facts clearly establishes that despite the order dated 07.07.2021, permission had been obtained by the Respondent No.2 to cut the tree in question. The said permission is claimed to be a forged document by the forest department. In view of the above, this Court holds that Respondent No.2 is guilty of wilful disobedience of the Orders of this Court,” the court said.

It added that the man violated the court orders with impunity and it cannot be said that he was an illiterate person and that he did not know about the judicial orders.

The court observed that the purpose of contempt jurisdiction is to uphold the majesty and dignity of the courts of law, since the respect and authority commanded by the courts of law are the greatest guarantee to an ordinary citizen and the democratic fabric of society will suffer if respect for the judiciary is undermined.

“For the acts done by the Respondent No.2/Contemnor, he deserves no mercy from this Court. A strong message has to be sent to the society that the orders of the Court cannot be flouted,” the court said.

However, Justice Prasad clarified that the court was not making any observations as to whether it was the contemnor who had forged and fabricated the documents, lest it would affect his defence in the criminal case.

The matter is now listed on April 30 for hearing on punishment to be imposed on the man for offences under Section 12 of the Contempt Of Courts Act, 1971.

The plea was moved by Bhavreen Kandhari, an environment activist, alleging that the July 2021 order was violated. It was her case that after knowing that the tree at Lajpat Nagar was being cut, she gave a police complaint and the local police apprehended the persons and seized their equipments.

The forest authorities told court that the permission to cut the tree was sought by the contemnor from the Tree officer on the basis of forged and fabricated documents. Accordingly, he was impleaded in the case as one of the respondents.

While holding him guilty of contempt, Justice Prasad perused the FIR lodged by the Deputy Conservator of Forest regarding the forged permission for the purpose of cutting the tree at Lajpat Nagar.

“A perusal of the FIR indicates that the tree was cut on the basis of permission purported to have been given by the Forest Department. The FIR indicates that the purported permission is fabricated and forged,” the court said.

It noted that after investigation, chargesheet was filed against the contemnor for the offences under Section 465 (punishment for forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the case is pending before the trial court.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Aditya N. Prasad, Advocate

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. Anupam Srivastava, ASC with Mr. Dhairya Gupta, Mr. Vasuh Misra, Advocates for R-1; Mr. Parveen Rawal and Mr. Shashank Sachdeva, Advocates for R-2. Ms. Mehak Nakra, ASC with Ms. Aditi Kapoor and Mr. Abhishek Khari, Advocates

Title: BHAVREEN KANDHARI v. MANDEEP MITTAL

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 440

Click here to read order