Supreme Court set up additional Forest Bench

On 16 July2010, Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia announced to set up an additional Forest Bench in the Supreme Court to hear cases related to environment and mining. Justice B. Sudershan Reddy will be the head of this additional bench.

Now the Forest Bench of the Supreme Court also known as the green bench is divided into two benches. CJI SH Kapadia now heads the first bench which will hear cases on every Monday related to mining and environmental related issues.

The second bench headed by Justice B.Sudarshan Reddy will hear cases on every Friday related to cutting of trees, their collection and transportation, smuggling of sandalwood and kendu leaves, construction and widening of highways and roads, issuing license and its renewal for saw mills, veneer and plywood. Besides, the bench will also deal with matters related to wildlife.

The issue of installation of statues in the Noida Park will be the first case to be decided by the first Forest Bench headed by CJI SH Kapadia followed by mining cases which includes Reddy Brothers case, French cement company Lafarge’s mining operations in Meghalaya and construction of roads in border areas.

The Forest bench or the Green bench is to have the final judicial verdict on a number of important environmental issues ranging from forest and national parks conservation, mining rights to hanging of billboards in public areas. 

The division of the Forest bench or Green bench was needed to make the hearing of environment related issues more speedily so there will be no pending cases related to environment and ecology issues.