Last Updated on January 19, 2022 by Administrator
Written By – Radhika Soni
Recently, the Delhi High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation in the case of Rahul Bhardwaj v. State, WP where the demand was made for sustainable development in the national capital through the implementation of a ‘One Person, One Tree’ policy.
The petitioner, Rahul Bhardwaj, appeared in person and sought a writ of mandamus directing the State to develop a long-term solution for environmental preservation. He claimed that several state administrations are coming up with temporary “jugaads” or remedies to sustainable development. However, in Delhi, where space is limited, the Petitioner argued that the state should implement a policy of “One person, One tree.”
He requested the Court to appoint a Commission to investigate the feasibility of the proposed policy, noting that it is not only a social responsibility but also a corporate social responsibility.
In the view of this, the Bench comprising of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh dismissed the petition while reserving liberty with the Petitioner to make a representation before the competent authority and said that, “It ought to be kept in mind that predominant role of this court is to interpret the law and not enact the law, except in exceptional cases. Drafting of policy is within the domain of the Respondent. Hence, no case is made out by the Petitioner for issuing a writ of mandamus for drafting a policy.”
