Shimla, March 17 -- Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged large-scale illegal felling of trees in the Shillai area of Sirmaur district, putting the State government and its forest enforcement machinery under judicial scrutiny for their apparent inaction.
The matter has been registered as a Public Interest Litigation (CW PIL No. 19 of 2026) on the basis of a communication sent by students from Shillai, flagging concerns over indiscriminate tree cutting in their locality. The court also took note of photographs annexed with the communication, which reportedly point to extensive and systematic felling.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chandra Negi, while hearing t...