Today, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna recused himself from hearing the contempt case against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) concerning the illegal felling of trees in the Delhi Ridge.

When the matter was brought before the bench of Chief Justice of India Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, the CJI made a verbal remark:

"As a Chairman of NALSA, I went to a Bihar jail. The LG of Delhi was also there. We had taken a tour of the jail and this contempt petition is in his personal capacity - it may be appropriate to list it before another bench."

Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi, VK Saxena, serves as the ex-officio Chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The bench directed that the matter be relisted before a bench in which neither of the current judges would be a part.

Previously, a bench consisting of former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was hearing the contempt case filed against the DDA Vice Chairman for the illegal felling of trees in Delhi's Ridge without obtaining the mandatory permission from the Supreme Court. On September 16, the Court had directed the DDA Chairperson, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, to submit a personal affidavit addressing various aspects of the matter.

On October 20, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) filed an affidavit stating, among other things, that he was not informed about the necessity of obtaining the Court's permission before the trees were cut. The LG also denied providing any specific instructions on February 3, during his visit to the site, regarding the felling of the trees.

During the last hearing, the bench led by former Chief Justice of India, Justice Chandrachud, noted a discrepancy between the statements of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) regarding the date on which the Chairperson was informed about the illegal felling of trees in Delhi's Ridge Forest.

The Court observed that, according to the affidavit filed by the DDA Chairperson, who is also the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, VK Saxena, he was informed about the illegal tree felling on June 10 by the DDA Vice Chairperson. However, a separate letter issued by the DDA Vice Chairperson stated that the information was conveyed to the LG on April 12, highlighting a discrepancy between the two accounts.

The matter will now be heard in the week commencing December 2.

During the hearings before Justice Oka, the petitioner in the contempt case raised concerns about harassment by the Delhi police. In response, the Court made a stern observation, stating that no authority should harass the petitioner in any manner.