A green legacy that began with the gavel

MAAFI, INSAF BAGHS - DELHI HC'S 'GREEN JUDGE' RETIRES

- Richa Banka

Nestled in the verdant expanse of the ridge in Delhi two unique parks themed on atonement and justice - their lush greenery built not by administrative fiat or citizen activism, but a set of remarkable court orders that devised a novel way for errant residents to signal their penance: planting trees.

Spanning 250 acres, the first of these parks Maafi Bagh or atonement park-is housed deep inside the heart of the dense southern ridge forest. The second - Insaaf Bagh or justice park - stands in the central ridge area that serves as the green lungs to the most select enclaves of the national capital.

Tying these two peaceful, if somewhat disparate spaces that now play host to myriad birds, butterflies and tourists, is a Delhi high court judge, justice Najmi Waziri, who started directing litigants to plant trees as a sign of penance five years ago.

Waziri, who passed 150 such judgments asking various petitioners to plant 3.7 lakh trees over five years, retired from the high court on Friday.

"It seemed like a more prudent way of utilising people's time and money than by sending the costs imposed on parties into various funds, where they may lie unutilised for decades to come," justice Waziri said in his farewell address.

In 2018, the judge was hearing a plea to quash an FIR against a man booked on charges of attempt to commit culpable homicide. Although the matter had been settled amicably between the parties, the court gave the petitioner an opportunity to make amends.

As a result, both the complainant and the petitioner were directed to help the forest department in the maintenance of the forest area in Delhi's Southern Ridge for two weeks, and to plant 300 trees in that period.