Probe tree-felling cases from all angles, Kerala HC tells SIT

Court disposes of petition seeking CBI probe into cases

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the special investigation team (SIT) probing the cases relating to the illegal felling and removal of valuable trees from various parts of Kerala to investigate the cases from all angles at the earliest to protect the interest of the State and avoid such situations in future. The Bench comprising Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chali while disposing of a public interest litigation seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the cases observed that “if anybody, howsoever high he is, is involved” in the illegal cutting of trees, adequate and stringent action should be initiated by the SIT, headed by the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, at the earliest to ensure that the evidence required for properly proceeding with the investigation and for the culmination of the prosecution proceedings were not “defaced or removed by the culprits.”