CJI recuses from Delhi Ridge tree felling in case

Heading a bench that also included justice PV Sanjay Kumar, the CJI said: “When I was NALSA (national legal services authority) chairman, I had gone to Patna, and with the Delhi L-G, I toured jails there. So, it will not be appropriate for me to hear a writ in his personal capacity.” The court directed the matter to be listed before another bench for further proceedings.

With CJI Khanna’s recusal, the case will now be heard by a fifth bench in just four months, highlighting its complex trajectory. This contempt petition has already seen a rare confrontation between two Supreme Court benches earlier this year, compelling the then CJI, justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, to intervene to resolve the standoff and centralise the matter under his own bench in August.

The controversy began in July when two different benches, led by justices Bhushan R Gavai and AS Oka respectively, handled separate but related aspects of the contempt case, leading to a judicial standoff.