Shimla/New Delhi, Aug. 1 -- Supreme Court today dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Pristine Hotels and Resorts Pvt. Ltd., which sought to quash a Himachal Pradesh government notification declaring Shri Tara Mata Hill in Shimla as a designated green area. The court upheld the Himachal Pradesh High Court's earlier decision, which had rejected the petition on the grounds that the private company had no enforceable land rights in the area.
A Division Bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan passed the 17 page verdict on July 28 and also used the occasion to express grave concern over Himachal Pradesh's worsening ecological crisis.
The court took suo moto cognizance of the widespread destruction caused b...