A special forest bench headed Chief Justice S H Kapadia extended the tenure of the CEC, which expired on February 20, till its further orders. "CEC is extended till further order. We need their help," said the bench which also comprised justices Aftab Alam and K S Radhakrishnan.
CEC, formed by the apex court, had started working from May 9, 2002, and now comprises six members. Initially it was constituted for five years and later its term was extended by the apex Court from time to time.
The CEC is headed by P V Jayakrishanan as its Chairman. Other members are M K Jiwrajka, Mahendra Vyas, M K Muthoo, S K Patnaik and P J Dilip Kumar. Senior advocate Harish Salve assists Supreme Court as an amicus curaie for CEC.
CEC had recently surveyed the Bellary reserve forests in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Last month, in its report placed before the Supreme Court, CEC had recommended closure of six mines of the powerful Reddy brothers of Karnataka who are ministers.
Also, the Supreme Court today asked the CEC to go into the illegal mining in the forests of Karnataka.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks