‘Not in a feudal era’: Supreme Court pulls up Uttarakhand government

SC refused to take the matter forward after the Uttarakhand government informed that the decision to appoint the officer as Director, Rajaji had been withdrawn.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday told Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami that this is not a feudal era where chief minister can act like a king, coming down hard on his decision to appoint an Indian Forest Officer facing departmental proceedings for alleged unauthorised construction and felling of trees at Corbett as the Director of Rajaji tiger reserve.

The court, however, refused to take the matter forward after the Uttarakhand government informed that the decision to appoint the officer as Director, Rajaji had been withdrawn. (ANI PHOTO)

A bench headed by justice BR Gavai said, “We are not in a feudal era. There is something like public trust doctrine. Heads of state cannot become like kings. When a specific noting is there not to appoint him as Director, Rajaji TR, ...you cannot do anything just because you are CM.”

The court, however, refused to take the matter forward after the Uttarakhand government informed that the decision to appoint the officer as Director, Rajaji had been withdrawn. It said, “Since the order posting the IFS officer Rahul (who goes by one name only) as Field Director, Rajaji has been withdrawn, and he is currently posted as chief conservator forests (Monitoring, Evaluation, IT and Modernisation), in that view of the matter, no further orders are required.

After the Uttarakhand High Court directed the state government to take action against officials responsible for the illegal felling of trees and construction inside Corbett Tiger Reserve in January 2022, the state government in April 2022, removed Rahul as the reserve’s director and attached him to the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) in Dehradun.

Responding to the court proceedings, Rahul said: “I myself requested the state government to discharge me of theresponsibilities of director, Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Though there is no anomaly in my transfer order and it can pass any judicial scrutiny under the rule of law of the country, but the process may be quite lengthy and tiresome and I am afraid that because of this process, I may not be able to do proper justice to my present assignment, which requires focused attention in the multifarious activities of the Tiger Reserve.”

The court’s scathing remarks against Dhami came on a report submitted by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) -- the expert body assisting the top court in forest and environment matters -- flagging the order passed last month appointing Rahul as Director, Rajaji. The decision approved by the CM was taken on August 9 overruling the objections noted on the file beginning from the section officer, the Deputy Secretary, Principal Secretary and Forest Minister in the state, who were of the view that Rahul’s appointment as Director, Rajaji should be reconsidered in light of the departmental proceedings pending against him.

The bench, also comprising justices PK Mishra and KV Viswanathan said, “Unless he is exonerated in the departmental proceedings, you cannot give him a certificate of good conduct.” Pointing to the string of file notings that the CM bypassed, the bench said, “When all subordinate authorities point out to the CM that the officer should not be posted at Rajaji, the CM says no without giving any reasons.”

Senior advocate ANS Nadkarni appearing for the state said that there is no system that requires the CM to give reasons. He offered to file the affidavit indicating that the CM had enquired about the matter and found that nothing incriminating has been found so far against the officer in the probe conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) so far into the illegal construction at Corbett. Rahul was one of the persons charge sheeted for his alleged role in felling of trees and allowing construction for Pakhro tiger safari inside the critical tiger habitat of Corbett.

On March 6 , the top court heard the issue of tiger safari at Corbett and directed CBI to probe the matter and directed the Uttarakhand government to complete the departmental proceedings against the officials (including Rahul) within six months.

Senior advocate K Parmeshwar assisting the court as amicus curiae pointed out that the Uttarakhand government is yet to finalise the departmental proceedings and in July, requested for three months to complete the enquiry. He further stated that even the CBI investigation is underway and at this critical juncture, there was no justification to post the officer in question at Rajaji, which is another critical tiger habitat.

Abhijay Negi, counsel of the Dehradun-based petitioner Anu Pant who has been pursuing the case related to the illegal felling of trees and constructions in Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) in Uttarakhand High Court said : “After Rahul was appointed director Rajaji Tiger Reserve on August 9, petitioner Anu Pant filed a complaint with the SC-appointed central empowered committee (CEC) on August 30. On September 2, CEC sent the matter to SC, requesting an urgent hearing in the matter. ”

Rahul defended himself:

Rahul said, “ The matter of illegal constructions and alleged felling of trees has been enquired/investigated/being investigated by almost a dozen agencies but none of the reports, which are in public so far, have made any adverse comment about any commission or omission at my part as Director, Corbett Tiger Reserve. Rather, most of these reports have clearly appreciated my role as supervisory office.”

Uttarakhand forest minister Subodh Uniyal in his statement issued on the matter last Thursday said: “There have been reports in the media that the Chief Minister has ignored the Minister, Chief Secretary and everyone else to appoint the Director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve. This is completely wrong. This decision has been taken unanimously, it has been decided after the consent of the Chief Minister and me.”

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