MUMBAI A division bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday recused itself from hearing the petition filed by Lavasa Corporation against the Environment and Forest Ministry’s notice. The Chief Justice Mohit Shah who was hearing the petition on Monday informed the court that he will not hear the case as one of his relatives was working with a legal firm that is advising Lavasa Corporation with regard to its Initial Public offering. The hearing will now resume only when the Chief Justice assigns the matter to another bench.

The show cause notice was issued by the Environment and Forest Ministry to Lavasa alleging that it had not secured environmental clearances before starting construction activity in the area spread over 5,000 hectares.