The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed sharp concern over what it described as an attempt to bypass its ongoing monitoring of alleged illegal constructions and tree felling inside the Corbett Tiger Reserve. The bench, led by the Chief Justice, was visibly unsatisfied when it learned that a senior forest officer, already under scrutiny in the case, had quietly approached the Uttarakhand High Court to challenge a prosecution sanction - even while the matter was actively being heard by the apex court.
Background
The matter traces back to the long-running T.N. Godavarman forest conservation case, where the Court is examining alleged unauthorized constructions and misuse of forest land in Corbett. Earlier, the Uttarakhand High Court had ordered a CBI investigation, following which the agency filed an FIR.
Most of the implicated officials were granted sanction for prosecution by the State, except one officer, identified in court as Shri Rahul, an Indian Forest Service officer.
On 8 September 2025, the Supreme Court questioned the State about this “special treatment.” Shortly after, on 16 September, the sanction against him was finally issued. But instead of approaching the Supreme Court directly, the officer filed a separate writ petition in the Uttarakhand High Court, which then stayed the sanction.
Court’s Observations
The bench said the development was deeply concerning.
“The bench observed, ‘When this Court is already seized of the matter, approaching another constitutional court to undo what is being examined here amounts to interference.’”
The judges noted that Shri Rahul had been closely following the proceedings via video-conferencing. This, the Court stressed, meant that he was fully aware of the discussions before the Supreme Court and could have sought relief here instead of going to the High Court.
The Court remarked that while High Courts are not “inferior” to the Supreme Court, judicial discipline requires that once the Supreme Court is handling a live matter, parallel proceedings should not be encouraged.
There was also displeasure that the High Court did not record the fact that the Supreme Court was supervising the issue.
Decision
In a decisive move, the Supreme Court withdrew the pending High Court case to itself, ordered that all records be transferred immediately, and stayed the High Court’s order that had halted the sanction.
Additionally, the Court issued a notice to Shri Rahul, directing him to personally appear on 11 November 2025 and explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.
The matter will now continue before the Supreme Court directly.
The proceedings concluded with the case listed for the next hearing on 11 November 2025.
Case: Supreme Court recalls Uttarakhand High Court proceedings and issues contempt notice to forest officer in Corbett illegal construction inquiry