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SC seeks Centre’s reply on arming forest guards over brutal assaults by poachers
What acted as a trigger for the Court to pass the direction was an application filed by environmental activist Kishore Rithe highlighting brutal assaults against forest guards and officers in the recent past.
Concerned over rising cases of violence against forest rangers by poachers and encroachers, the Supreme Court on Friday termed the situation “serious” and asked the Centre to spell out within four weeks measures such as arming them with weapons and providing them helmets and bulletproof vests to protect both the forests and their own lives.
What acted as a trigger for the Court to pass the direction was an application filed by environmental activist Kishore Rithe highlighting brutal assaults against forest guards and officers in the recent past.
“There is an alarming rise in frequency and ferocity of brutal assaults on forest officials in the last six to eight months in various states.” Rithe stated in an application moved through his non-government organisation, Nature Conservation Society, in a pending case.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said: “We are of the view that the situation is serious...It is difficult to imagine how any law can be enforced by forest staff who are unarmed against poachers who are likely to be heavily armed…We don’t know what steps are being taken by the states where poaching is rampant to protect forest staff.”
Senior advocate Shyam Divan who appeared for Rithe, highlighted three incidents in Madhya Pradesh and one incident each in Rajasthan and Maharashtra where forest personnel on patrolling duty were attacked by poachers or timber mafia with axes, hammers and other weapons.
Divan pointed out that whenever a case is filed against poachers/encroachers, the latter either resort to such attacks or file criminal cases against forest staff under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as a counterblast. “India accounts for 31% of mortal attacks against forest rangers or officials across the world, which is quite high,” Divan said.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, promised to work out a solution after consulting state governments. The CJI shared his personal experience of having once visited a forest reserve in Maharashtra where the guards were armed with sticks and walked through the forest wearing slippers, CJI Bobde remarked. In the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, forest guards were armed, he recalled.
“We do not understand this unequal playing field where some states have armed forest guards while many don’t. Each forest officer has a responsibility equal to a policeman in a city,” observed the bench, also comprising justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.
The court-appointed amicus curiae (friend of the court) ADN Rao, assisting the bench in forest and environmental matters, told the bench that the problem was also about under-utilization of funds allocated to states.
The bench said, “We will see how this money can be utilized for purchasing bullet-proof vests, purchase of arms for officers above a suitable rank, and helmets in addition to the regular things supplied to forest staff.”
The Court directed the solicitor general to sit with the amicus curiae and Divan and make a joint submission on what additional measures can be adopted for protection of forests and the lives of forest staff. The court posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.
In the meantime, Divan requested the court for a stay on all criminal proceedings initiated against forest staff at the behest of encroachers and sought an action taken report (ATR) from the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan where forest staff were brutally attacked last year.
The bench stayed the criminal cases as requested by Divan and directed the home secretaries of the three states to submit a report by the next date of hearing.
