Justice Amrita Sinha of Calcutta High Court ordered on Tuesday that a fine of ₹10,000, collected from a litigant for “wasting the court’s time”, be utilised to plant trees on the court premises.

Justice Sinha had earlier imposed the fine on Manirul Molla, a resident of Bhangar, after he prayed for the withdrawal of a criminal case he had filed against Trinamool Congress MLA Saokat Molla.

The petitioner had in the previous hearing prayed for an extension of time to pay the fine. His lawyer told the court on Tuesday that the fine had been paid.

The petitioner wanted to withdraw the case against the Canning (East) MLA after at least six hearings.

On Tuesday, the judge asked the upkeep department of the high court to consult the state forest department before planting the trees.

“You have to speak to the divisional forest officer or whoever is in charge.... This money is to be used for planting trees in and around the high court premises... Big trees, meaning trees having foliage. It could be banyan, peepal or neem... but not money plant or sunflower or chrysanthemum,” the judge said in open court.

Justice Sinha listed the matter for July 29. “Let the plan for planting the trees be placed before the court on the date,” the judge said.

Till Tuesday evening, the written order had not been uploaded on the court website.

“The judge also sought an audit report from the appropriate department of the court on the utilisation of the fine amount collected from the litigant,” a court officer said.

A few days ago, the same judge had asked a litigant to pay a fine of ₹50,000 and asked the high court administration to utilise the amount for building a ladies’ toilet on the high court premises.

At a time when more female advocates were joining the profession and the footfall of women litigants as well as employees was going up, the order was welcomed by everybody.

A source said the dispute between the petitioner and the MLA had been “settled” outside the court.

Calcutta High Court lacks enough open spaces, said veteran lawyers and court officials.

The court compound is made up of the Main Building, the Centenary Building and the Sesquicentenary Building. An Annexe building later came up on the same premises as the Main Building.

“The neo-Gothic High Court building was constructed in 1872, ten years after the establishment of the court itself. The design, by then government architect Walter Granville, was loosely modelled on the 13th-century Cloth Hall at Ypres, Belgium,” says the court’s website.

An open area that doubles up as a garden, near the Annexe Building, hosts a flower show in February, an annual ritual of sorts, that is visited by many.