Supreme Court Expansion Project: Delhi High Court Approves Tree Transplantation Under Specific Conditions

By Abhishek Jat, Advocate

The Delhi High Court has granted permission for the transplantation of 26 trees to facilitate the expansion of the Supreme Court building, a project that aims to create additional courtrooms, including a Constitutional Court, chambers for judges, and improved facilities for lawyers and litigants. Justice Jasmeet Singh, while presiding over the application filed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), acknowledged the necessity of the project but imposed several conditions to ensure environmental protection and sustainability.

According to the court order, the 26 trees will be relocated within the Supreme Court Complex itself. Specifically, 16 trees will be transplanted along the periphery of the garden between Gates A and B, while the remaining 10 will be placed near the corner of the Administrative Buildings Complex, adjacent to Gate 1. As environmental compensation, the CPWD has already undertaken the plantation of 260 trees at Sundar Nursery, adhering to the standard compensatory ratio of 10:1 for each tree affected by development projects.

The court has mandated several conditions to ensure the survival and proper care of the transplanted trees. The CPWD must file an affidavit through a responsible officer within two weeks of the order's release, detailing the status of both the transplanted trees and the compensatory plantation at Sundar Nursery. Photographic documentation of the transplanted trees must be submitted for review by the amicus curiae to assess their maintenance and health. The CPWD is required to explore obtaining necessary permissions from municipal authorities to plant additional trees along the road leading to the Supreme Court, which previously featured abundant tree cover before the Sundar Nagar Road expansion. A tree officer must supervise the pruning process to ensure it is conducted scientifically, promoting tree rejuvenation rather than excessive cutting that could compromise the trees' ability to recover.

Furthermore, the court directed that the CPWD must submit a site-specific transplantation report and file annual affidavits indicating the survival rate and health of both the transplanted and compensatory trees. This ruling came in the case of Bhavreen Kandhari v. CD Singh, which was decided on March 26, 2025. The court's balanced approach reflects the judicial system's commitment to infrastructure development while maintaining environmental safeguards, ensuring that urban expansion does not come at the unmitigated expense of green cover in the national capital.