New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear an Indian Forest Service officer’s petition challenging the CBI’s approval to prosecute him in a case related to alleged illegal construction and large-scale felling of trees in Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett National Park.
The matter came before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi. Justice Bagchi observed that he had made false entries in the logbook regarding various teak trees, which amounted to forgery, fraud, and misuse of official position.
Justice Bagchi said, “Now, if you are of the view that a legal opinion was given that no crime was committed, I don’t know how you can even argue that the facts have been re-examined…”
The bench was told that the first approval was denied, and another approval was granted thereafter. Justice Bagchi told the petitioner’s lawyer, “If you argue further, we will be inclined to believe that this is a fit case for filing charges against you. Forget about sanction.”
Regarding the legal advice, the CJI said that if it was given by a judicial officer, his conduct was a very serious matter for investigation. The CJI said, “Tomorrow, if he makes a mistake, he could become a district judge. He could be promoted. We have to be very careful. We would like to investigate this.”
Justice Bagchi said, “When cases of falsification arise in ecologically fragile tiger reserves… the person who should protect them, do you think departmental action is enough?”
The bench observed that the illegal felling of trees was characterized as “bonafide felling” and questioned whether this was not a criminal offense. On November 11, 2025, the Supreme Court dropped contempt proceedings against the officer after he tendered an unconditional apology to the Uttarakhand High Court for approaching the CBI to stay his prosecution in the alleged illegal construction case filed in the national park.
The Uttarakhand High Court had stayed the state government order granting sanction to prosecute the officer – who was also the former director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve – in the case of alleged illegal construction and tree felling. The Supreme Court issued a contempt notice while the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.
On October 15, 2025, the Supreme Court expressed strong displeasure over this development and questioned how the High Court had handled the appeal against its observations and order.
The Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to the officer, stayed the High Court order, and transferred the judicial records to itself. It later considered the officer’s unconditional apology, granting him amnesty, taking into account his 21 years of “impeccable service” and future prospects.
