"Not All 100-Page Judgements Are Well Considered": Bombay High Court Remarks

On Thursday, Chief Justice Dipankar Datta of the Bombay High Court made an off the cuff remark indicating that the length of a judgement doesn't decide its authority. The judgement's length wouldn't automatically imply it is well reasoned, the CJ said. "Mr. AG, Not All 100-page judgements are well considered," the CJ told Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni in response to the AG's comment that since 100-page judgements were passed by the Bombay High Court dismissing PILs against felling of trees for the Mumbai Metro III car shed at Aarey Colony, the petition before the court should not be considered. All aspects were already considered, he said. He further informed the court that another PIL on a similar issue was pending before the Supreme Court and is likely to come up for hearing today. Senior Advocate Mihir Desai for the petitioner, however, submitted that he had circulated the matter much before the recent alleged indiscriminate chopping of trees for the Metro III construction. He agreed that since a bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud will be considering the other Aarey petitions today, the instant petition may be listed on another date. However, he said the dismissed petitions involved different enactments. But the present PIL filed by NGO Earth Brigade Foundation sought to declare Aarey Milk Colony as a conservation reserve under section 36A of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. According to 36A, the State Government may consult local communities and declare any area owned by the Government, particularly the areas adjacent to National Parks and sanctuaries and those areas which link one protected area with another, as a conservation reserve for protecting landscapes, seascapes, flora and fauna and their habitat. The petition challenges all developmental activities at Aarey Colony including the Metro 3 car depot, Metro Bhavan, a zoo, a slum rehabilitation project and a proposed regional transport office. Aarey is set to lose 162 hectares (ha) due to projects planned by the state inside the 1,280-ha green lung. Before adjourning the matter for three weeks, the Chief Justice told the AG that the size of a judgement had nothing to connect it to its importance.

"Not All 100-Page Judgements Are Well Considered": Bombay High Court Remarks

Sharmeen Hakim

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