Chandigarh: Observing that state authorities appear to be “in no mood” to carry out its directions to declare Morni Hills area as a reserved forest and were looking for excuses to delay the project, Punjab and Haryana high court has initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against the secretary of forest and wildlife department.“It appears that the functionaries of the state of Haryana are in no mood to proceed with the demarcation/survey of Morni Hills and are delaying the process on one pretext or the other, for reasons best known to them. Accordingly, this court takes suo motu cognizance and issues notice of contempt to Vasvi Tyagi, secretary to Government of Haryana, forest and wildlife department, as to why he/she should not be proceeded against for contempt on account of non-compliance of the order dated June 20, 2025,” a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel said in its order on Saturday.The bench is hearing a petition filed by Vijay Bansal, an activist from Panchkula, who seeks directions to the state to conduct settlement of Morni Hills area under Punjab Land Revenue Act and Punjab Settlement Manual in a time-bound manner and to implement the July 1997 report on the issue.In its June 2025 judgment, HC had directed the forest settlement officer (FSO) to complete the demarcation and survey of Morni Hills and mandated the state to issue a notification under Section 20 of Indian Forest Act, 1927, declaring the land as ‘Reserved Forest’ by Dec 31, 2025. The court also ordered continuation of its earlier restraint on all non-forest activities in the area until the notification was issued.During Friday’s hearing, the bench observed that more than seven months had elapsed without any substantive steps being taken toward demarcation or survey. The court observed that, without seeking clarification or review of its final order, state govt altered the composition of FSO by converting it from a single-member authority into a three-member body through a notification dated Sept 17, 2025.Calling the conduct of the state “extremely unfortunate,” HC observed that the authorities appeared to be deliberately delaying the process, raising serious concerns about compliance with judicial directions.An affidavit filed by the forest secretary on Jan 20, 2026, seeking extension of time, also failed to satisfy the court, which pointed out that the request came without any demonstrable progress on the ground. The next hearing is on Feb 20.“It is extremely unfortunate to note that, before issuing the notification dated Sept 17, 2025, appointing a three-member body, the state of Haryana did not approach this court for clarification or review of the final order dated June 20, 2025. It is now more than seven months since the passing of the said order, and no steps have been initiated with regard to the demarcation / survey of Morni Hills,” said the HC bench.
