Delhi high court orders both parties to plant 200 saplings each to end negativity

The high court issued the order in a six-year-old case. The investigating officer will select the place where the saplings are to be planted and both the parties will have to take care of the saplings for five years, the judge said.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court directed two families, who were involved in a case of assault that was later settled, to plant 200 saplings each to do away with the "negativity" in them. Also, the court asked both the parties to take care of the samplings for five years.

During the hearing, Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said that the move will help the parties to end their negativity and contribute to the society. Sharma said that the place where the samples are to be planted would be identified by the investigating officer after consulting the horticulture department. The petitioners would be informed 15 days in advance, he added.

The case dates back to March 4, 2017 when three members of one family went to the house of the other family and asked for their identity cards to get blankets that were supposed to be distributed by a candidate of a political party. While collecting the identity cards a fight broke out between both the families. Both of them lodged FIRs against each other and complained of assault.

However, in January, the matter was settled by the members of the two families. They informed the court that they had settled the matter voluntarily without fear or coercion. Following which, the high court asked them to plant a total of 400 saplings and take care of those for five years.

The judge also asked the investigating office to explore the possibility of geo-tagging the saplings for proper monitoring. The directive will make the Capital greener.