NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has set aside the order passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, and restored the interim protection earlier granted to Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, in connection with the proceedings initiated by the Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Strike Force concerning alleged leopard poaching case.
The matter arises from the recovery of 10 leopard skins in Agra on July 2026, following the intelligence provided by Wildlife SOS and persons associated with the organisation to the Uttar Pradesh Forest authorities.
During the subsequent investigation, the authorities alleged that the leopard skins had been sourced from Madhya Pradesh, following which separate Forest Offence Reports were registered by the Madhya Pradesh authorities concerning the alleged poaching.
Satyanarayan was represented before the Supreme Court by senior advocates, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Siddharth Dave and Rohit Bharadwaj, Advocate.
Satyanarayan subsequently approached the High Court of Madhya Pradesh challenging the proceedings in Madhya Pradesh and the summons issued to him. On September 2, the High Court had granted him interim protection from coercive action and permitted him to participate in the proceedings with his counsel observing from a distance. The order also required him to cooperate with the investigation.
The State thereafter sought recall of the interim protection. The HC, by its order on September 07, accepted the State’s application, and recalled the interim protection and directed Satyanarayan to appear before the investigating authority.
He challenged the said order before the Supreme Court. It after hearing the detailed submissions on his behalf has now restored the interim protection granted on September 02, and thereby protecting Satyanarayan from coercive action. While at the same time, the top court directed him to join and cooperate with the investigation on September 28, at 11:00 AM.
The order thus permits the investigation to proceed while safeguarding Satyanarayan’s personal liberty and enabling him to participate in the investigation in accordance with the directions of the Court.
Satyanarayan has consistently maintained that Wildlife SOS has, for several decades, worked with government authorities and forest departments in wildlife rescue, conservation and the detection of wildlife crime.
The organisation’s intelligence activities have on several occasions assisted enforcement authorities in identifying and apprehending persons involved in wildlife offences. The present proceedings arise in the context of such intelligence being provided to the authorities which resulted in the recovery of the leopard skins at Agra.
The Supreme Court’s order enables Satyanarayan to cooperate with the investigation while ensuring that he is not subjected to coercive action during the pendency of the proceedings.