Orissa HC grants bail to 6, asks them to plant 50 saplings & maintain them for 2 years

CUTTACK: The Orissa high court granted bail to six persons in separate cases on condition that they must plant 50 saplings and maintain them for two years.
The single judge bench of Justice S K Panigrahi passed such orders in six different cases over the past five days.

He was hearing criminal revision petitions challenging conviction orders with sentences of simple imprisonment up to two years by trial courts in Kendrapada, Puri, Rajgangpur, Baliguda and Sonepur.
While directing the trial courts to release the petitioners on bail in the six cases on such terms and conditions as deemed just and proper by them, Justice Panigrahi included further identical conditions that said: “The petitioner after the onset of monsoon, shall plant 50 saplings of local variety like mango, neem, tamarind, etc., around his village over the government land/community land/private land, if it is in the possession of the petitioner or his family members.”
In the order Justice Panigrahi also specified: “Violation of the above condition shall entail cancellation of the bail. The inspector-in-charge of the concerned police station in coordination with the local forest officer shall monitor; whether the petitioner has planted the saplings or not.”
Justice Panigrahi further directed the petitioners “to file before the local police station affidavits after plantation of the saplings assuring that he shall maintain those plants for two years.” In one case Justice Panigrahi directed the petitioner to plant 100 saplings. “
“The district nursery or divisional forest officer (DFO) shall extend the helping hand by supplying the saplings to the petitioner,” the Orissa high court further added.