Karnataka High Court restrains tree cutting at Cantonment site in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday passed an interim order stating that no tree will be cut or damaged on the premises of the 8.61 acre site opposite the Cantonment railway station in Bengaluru.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha passed the interim order in a PIL filed by former legislator AT Ramaswamy challenging the December 6, 2025, notification, withdrawing the biodiversity heritage tag to the subject land.

The bench also issued notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Railways, state government, Karnataka Biodiversity Board, KSPCB and others.

The petitioners have challenged the December 6, 2025, notification issued by the state government withdrawing the September 10, 2025, notification whereby the 8.61-acre green area was declared as Biodiversity Heritage site under the Biological Diversity Act 2002.

The petition stated that the Railways property is a ‘green space’, situated in the heart of the city and part of the Cantonment railway station, but bifurcated by a road.

The 8.61 acres land (34,856 sq ft) is rich in biodiversity and consists of 371 trees.

According to the petitioner, SEIAA website has not been updated after the May 29, 2025, meeting, including the 328th SEAC meeting, deliberately to conceal the Minutes of Meeting in respect of the property in question.

The petitioner claimed that the decades-old green space is a haven for birds, which is being sought to use for commercial purposes by the Indian Railways. The tree officer issued a public notice dated April 25, 2025, calling for objections regarding the felling of trees, the petitioner said, adding that work is underway in this regard.

On the other hand, Additional Solicitor General Arvind Kamat, appearing for the Railways, submitted that at the moment no steps are taken to cut any trees. He further said that an application has been made to the tree expert committee and only once the expert committee grants permission, any further steps will be taken.

Recording this submission, the division bench adjourned the matter to February 13, 2026. The authorities have been directed to file their statement of objections by the next date of hearing.