In an eco-friendly ruling, the High Court yesterday ordered a UP chairman accused of felling trees to plant 50 more trees in exchange for securing bail.
The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Mohammad Ullah set the unique bail condition for Abdul Majid Biswas, chairman of Shialdanga union parishad in Satkhira, for cutting down seven trees to put up a road block during a Jamaat-e-Islami protest programme last year.
A case was registered against 22 suspects, including Biswas, on Mar 8 with Satkhira Sadar police station. The accused chairman was arrested on September 9.
According to the case details, the suspects were accused of committing sabotage by cutting down trees on the Abaderhat-Rajapur road on March 3 and 4 last year.
The HC ordered Biswas to plant 50 teak and mahogany trees in the area and inform the court through an affidavit on fulfilling the term of the bail.
However, it did not mention a timeframe for carrying out the bail condition.
The court also asked the officer-in-charge of Satkhira Sadar police station to keep an eye on whether Biswas plants the trees or not and report back.
