Punjab and Haryana HC issues bail orders with green riders

An unusual trend is taking roots in the judicial system as green justice is quietly finding its place in court orders. No longer a passing thought, it is now a condition for bail.

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So, when former Punjab police officer and Arjuna awardee Jagdish Singh Bholla was granted bail in a high-stake drugs case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court added an unusual clause. Bholla was told to plant 100 saplings of indigenous species at a public place within 15 days and submit photographic proof before the Chief Judicial Magistrate. Miss the deadline, and the state will be free to seek cancellation of bail.

The order was not a one-off. Chief Justice Sheel Nagu alone has included similar plantation directives in over 50 bail orders since December 2024, firmly tying environmental responsibility to judicial relief.

Even during the summer vacation, the message held firm. Bail was granted with a rider: “During monsoon, the petitioner shall also plant 10 saplings of indigenous plants at a public place... and submit proof in that regard within 15 days. Failing which, the state may move for cancellation of bail.”

Amid murmurs over the cutting of trees and breaching of the Rock Garden wall to make way for parking, the high court’s green directives have emerged as a quiet reaffirmation of environmental values. The shift is visible not just in courtrooms, but on the premises itself. The high court has planted 387 trees on its campus over the past year, an initiative led by the Chief Justice and judges as part of a sustained institutional push.

Launched in May 2024, the drive began with 24 fruit-bearing trees near the maintenance booth. This was followed planting of saplings of 50 flowering trees along the stretch to court room No. 9. The largest phase is underway between the roundabout and gate No. 6, where 313 saplings of pine, moulsary, sangwan, kajorina and fishtail palm have already been planted against a target of 400.

The initiative aligns with Article 48-A of the Constitution, directing the state to protect the environment, and echoes Article 51A(g), which casts a duty on citizens. It also resonates with the emphasis placed by the Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Surya Kant, which recently underscored the fact that a forest was not just a collection of trees, but a complex web of life that sustained ecological balance. Justice Deepak Sibal, Chairman of the High Court’s Building Committee, calls the effort a “functional corrective” amid shrinking green spaces.

The UT has also been asked to follow the Supreme Court directions on green pavers and tree-lined parking. On World Environment Day, the Punjab State Legal Services Authority launched a five-lakh sapling campaign across the state, “Each One, Plant One”, guided by Justice Surya Kant and Chief Justice Nagu and led by Justice Sibal in Punjab.