The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday directed the Ministry of Railways not to cut trees without permission at Cantonment Railway Colony, situated opposite the Cantonment Railway Station in Bengaluru, for the proposed constructions.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha passed the interim order on a PIL petition filed by former MLA A.T. Ramaswamy and three others.
The petitioner had sought a direction from the court to quash a December 16, 2025, notification issued by the State government withdrawing its earlier notification of September 10, 2025, in which an 8.61-acre green area with 371 trees adjacent to the station was declared as a biodiversity heritage site under Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Without consent
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) of India K. Arvind Kamath told the Bench that the State government rightly withdrew the notification on declaration of the biodiversity park as it was issued without the consent of the Central government.
On the apprehension of the petitioners that the trees would be cut any time, the ASG said that the petition was premature as Railways had only filed an application seeking permission for cutting certain trees. Recording the submissions made by the ASG, the Bench adjourned further hearing till February 13, 2026.
Published – December 17, 2025 09:34 pm IST
