Contempt plea in HC against NBCC for tree cutting
New Delhi, June 27: A petition was filed in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday seeking contempt action against the National Buildings Construction Corp (NBCC), tasked with redeveloping six south Delhi colonies, for allegedly violating its undertaking to the court not to cut trees till July 4 for residential projects here.
The contempt petition was mentioned before a bench of Justice Vinod Goel and Justice Rekha Palli which posted the plea, filed by environmentalist Vimlendu Jha, for hearing on July 4 along with the main petition.
While hearing the main plea, which had sought setting aside of the terms of reference and environmental clearance granted to the project by the Environment Ministry, the bench on June 25 asked the NBCC not to axe till July 4 the 16,500 trees set to be cut for the residential project.
In the contempt plea, Jha alleged that there was "deliberate and willful default" of the June 25 undertaking given to the court by the NBCC.
He said that the alleged contemnor (NBCC CMD) had undertaken not to cut trees in areas concerned till July 4 but on Tuesday he noticed that the officials and workers of NBCC were cutting trees in Netaji Nagar in south Delhi.
A police complaint had been filed and he sought contempt action against authorities, the plea added.
On Monday, the court asked the NBCC not to cut the trees till the next date of hearing and the NBCC had assured the bench that it will not chop any tree till July 4.
The main petition was filed by orthopaedic surgeon Kaushal Kant Mishra against the Environment Ministry's order, saying that it would lead to felling of over 16,500 trees.
The six south Delhi colonies where the trees would be felled are Sarojini Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur and Kasturba Nagar.
All these areas are home to government employees where the Central government is pulling down houses built in the 1950s and replacing them with high-rise buildings.
Besides the NBCC, the project is also being executed by the Central Public Works Department.
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Missing JNU student: Najeeb Ahmed refused treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, CBI tells court
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): The CBI on Monday informed a Delhi court that former JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, who allegedly went missing on October 15, 2016, had refused treatment at Safdarjung Hospital after allegedly being assaulted by a group of students belonging to the ABVP.
The CBI made the submission before additional chief judicial magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari while arguing on its closure report and a protest plea filed against it by Ahmed's mother Fatima Nafees.
The central probe agency said the statements of the hospital's doctor and medical attendant were not taken due to the absence of any such document to show Ahmed's visit.
"Upon visiting the hospital, Ahmed was advised to get an MLC prepared. However, he, accompanied by his friend Md Quasim, went back to the hostel and did not get any MLC prepared," the investigating officer (IO) claimed.
The judge recorded the submission and adjourned the matter for May 9, when the IO was ordered to also appear.
The CBI in October 2018 closed its investigation into the case as the agency's efforts to trace Ahmed, a Master’s student at JNU, yielded no results.
The agency filed its closure report before the court in the case after getting permission from the Delhi High Court.
Ahmed went missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of JNU on October 15, 2016, following a scuffle with some students allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) the previous night.
Nafees' counsel had contended before the court that it was a “political case” and that the “CBI has succumbed to the pressure of its masters”.
The case was probed by Delhi Police but later transferred to the CBI.
