ALLEGED DEED

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government after hearing a writ petition, alleging that a social activist, Ratnagar, who had prepared the tree felling report, had been arrested. The bench comprising Justice A S Anand, Justice B N Kirpal and Justice V N Khare directed the government to state within two days the charges on which the social activist had been arrested. They expressed concern over the decline in the dense forest cover to the extent of 17,000 square kilometre between 1995 to 1997 as indicted in a government report.