India, July 11 -- Thirty years ago, when a landlord approached the Supreme Court decrying deforestation in the Nilgiris Hills, little did he know that his petition would deeply entrench the role of judiciary in forest governance. Since then, the Court has delivered orders and judgments in the continuing case of TN Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and has shaped India's forest policy. Responding to interlocutory applications, the Court has made decisions with respect to timber trade, operation of saw mills and the functioning of national parks. It also created the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to monitor the implementation of forest-related orders, and decided the price of forests and rules for compensatory afforestation. Godav...