Aarey forest protest: SC constitutes special bench for urgent hearing today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has constituted a special bench for an urgent hearing on Monday against the felling of trees in the Aarey forest in Maharashtra.

The apex court on Sunday set up a special bench based on a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India by one Rishav Ranjan against the cutting of the trees.

The top court decided to register the letter as public interest litigation.

The apex court website posted a notice about holding an urgent hearing, stating, "Take notice that a special bench has been constituted to hear the matter tomorrow i.e October 7, 2019 at 10.00 AM on the basis of a letter dated October 6, 2019 addressed by Rishav Ranjan with regard to felling of trees in Aarey forest, state of Maharashtra which has been registered as a public interest litigation".

Meanwhile, a sessions court in Mumbai on Sunday granted bail to 29 protesters arrested over the last two days on charges of allegedly obstructing and assaulting police personnel on duty during protests against felling of trees at Aarey Colony.

Additional sessions court judge H C Shende of the holiday court ordered their release on certain conditions including production of personal surety of Rs 7,000 and assurance that they would not take part in protests.

However, the protesters are unlikely to walk out of the Thane jail, where most of them are currently lodged, on Sunday pending completion of the legal procedure and other formalities.

The arrests were made over Friday night and Saturday after clashes broke out between the police and green activists opposing axing of trees by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) in Aarey Colony in north Mumbai.

The trees are being felled to make way for a metro rake depot after the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a clutch of petitions challenging the Mumbai civic body's order for chopping the trees. The HC on Saturday refused to grant stay on felling of trees.

Facing flak from green activists for felling trees in part of Aarey Colony for a metro car shed, the MMRCL on Sunday posted a video claiming it had planted 24,000 trees across the city even as its MD Ashwini Bhide justified the "inevitable destruction",

saying it paves the way for "new creation".