The Punjab government on Monday, November 2, told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the Punjab Protection of Trees Act, 2026 will be kept in abeyance until its provisions are reconsidered, Bar and Bench and LawChakra reported. The state said it "will not proceed" under the new enactment and will abide by the guidelines the court issues.

Source: Bar and Bench

The statement was made before a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor in Praneet Kaur v. State of Punjab and Others. The government also told the bench that no permission to fell trees has been granted under the new Act so far.

A new development after last week's rebuke

This follows the earlier development on October 31, when the same bench orally termed the law draconian, noting that it permits the felling of trees subject to payment of money, and asked the state to rethink it before the court examines the pending challenge. Those remarks were prima facie; the Act's validity has not been decided.

The court said it will issue detailed guidelines on the felling of trees in Punjab and Haryana. The court has been seized of tree felling in Punjab since December 2025, when, hearing petitions mainly challenging the proposed felling of 251 trees in Mohali district, it ordered that no tree shall be cut in Punjab without its prior permission until further orders.

Source: LawChakra

The state notified the new legislation in September 2026 while the matter was already before the court. The challenge alleges the Act removes previous safeguards and permits tree cutting simply upon deposit of certain charges — an allegation the court has yet to decide on its merits.

What happens next: the Act stays unused while the state reconsiders it, the court's detailed guidelines are awaited, and the challenge to the law's validity remains pending before the High Court.