BHOPAL: Four years after the state forest department's frontline staff, including forest guards and range officers, surrendered their service firearms in protest over criminal cases filed against their colleagues in the 2022 Lateri (Vidisha) firing incident, the Madhya Pradesh government on Friday restored legal protection for forest personnel using firearms in the discharge of official duty.
A notification issued by the state Forest Department on Friday, in compliance with the Supreme Court's July 22, 2026 order in its suo motu proceedings on illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary, extends protection under Section 218(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, to forest personnel engaged in forest and wildlife protection.
The notification covers Forest Guards, Foresters, Deputy Forest Range Officers, Forest Range Officers, Assistant Conservators of Forests, Sub-Divisional Forest Officers, Deputy Conservators of Forests, Divisional Forest Officers, Regional Chief Conservators of Forests, Field Directors and other notified officers.
Under the new framework, the use of firearms by a forest official during the discharge of official duty will first be examined through a magisterial inquiry conducted by the jurisdictional Executive Magistrate.
An FIR can be registered or an arrest made only if the inquiry concludes that the use of force was unnecessary, unwarranted or excessive, and the state government accepts the findings.
Officials said the mechanism is intended to protect bona fide enforcement action while ensuring independent scrutiny and accountability.
The notification comes after years of demands from the Forest Department, which argued that personnel tasked with tackling organised timber smuggling, wildlife poaching and illegal mining frequently face armed resistance but lack the legal safeguards available to other enforcement agencies whenever firearms are used during operations.
The issue assumed statewide significance after the Lateri firing incident in Vidisha district in 2022. According to forest officials, a patrol team attempting to intercept alleged teak smugglers was surrounded by suspected offenders, prompting personnel to fire warning shots. Despite approaching the police to lodge a complaint, members of the forest patrol were instead booked on charges of murder and attempted murder.
The FIR triggered an unprecedented protest by hundreds of forest department personnel, who deposited their official firearms at district headquarters and divisional offices across the state. The protesting officials argued that forest personnel regularly risk their lives confronting organised forest offenders but remain vulnerable to criminal prosecution even while acting in the discharge of official duty.
Forest officials said the episode had a lasting impact on field operations, with many personnel becoming reluctant to carry or use government-issued firearms during anti-poaching, anti-smuggling and anti-mining operations because of the fear of criminal prosecution.
In its July 22, 2026 order, the Supreme Court observed that there was "no justification for any further delay" in issuing notifications under Section 218(3) of the BNSS. The court noted that forest guards and officers perform the "highly dangerous task" of protecting ecologically fragile habitats from organised illegal sand mining, poaching and other unlawful activities, and held that these duties are intrinsically connected with the maintenance of public order. It also referred to the Central Empowered Committee's findings that many forest personnel felt "handicapped and inhibited" by the fear of departmental or police action even when acting bona fide.
Friday's notification also follows prolonged deliberations within the state government. Officials in the Forest Department said the notification would restore operational confidence among frontline personnel while ensuring that every use of force remains subject to judicially supervised scrutiny.