New Delhi: Delhi High Court has stayed a standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by Delhi govt allowing pruning of certain tree branches without prior approval, saying that the removal of the mandatory nod of a tree officer to carry out pruning is “in teeth of” an earlier ruling.HC acted on a contempt petition moved by one Bhavreen Kandhari, drawing its attention to its May 29, 2023, judgment that there was no provision under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act permitting pruning of branches with a girth of up to 15.7 cm without specific permission from such an officer.The plea highlighted that despite the 2023 HC order, govt issued the SOP last year for tending and pruning of trees. The SOP stated that no permission was required for “general tending and light pruning” where the branch girth was less than 15.7 cm. It also allowed agencies like MCD, NDMC, DDA and PWD to undertake pruning in public areas in certain cases.“By virtue of the notification, the respondent is undoing the (2023) judgment, which to my mind cannot be so done,” Justice Jasmeet Singh has noted, while staying the SOP.The court pointed out that its judgment, which had already attained finality, was binding on the authorities and they couldn’t nullify or bypass the effect of a judicial decision through an executive notification.It asked govt to file a response in the form of an affidavit within four weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on July 20, 2026.In 2023, HC had similarly set aside earlier guidelines permitting regular pruning of tree branches with a girth of up to 15.7 cm without prior permission, and also ordered that no trimming would be permitted except in accordance with the law.At that time, it had referred to “glaring examples of misuse of the generous permission” to prune such trees, noting that the “so-called permission” under the guidelines sought to overreach the statute, which laid down the manner of pruning.It had observed that the sole objective of the Act was preservation of trees, and that permission for cutting, girdling, lopping and pollarding was to be strictly regulated.
