DEHRADUN: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Central Government, the Uttarakhand State Government, and a former senior wildlife official, signalling a possible revival of the long-stalled CBI probe into alleged tiger poaching and collusion within the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
A bench headed by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai agreed to examine a plea seeking the removal of a seven-year-old interim stay that has effectively frozen the Central Bureau of Investigation’s inquiry into the suspicious deaths of tigers in the renowned national park.
The matter was brought before the court by environmental activist Atul Sati. Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora and advocate Govind Ji argued that the stay, imposed in 2018, must be lifted without delay.
“Evidence gathered during the initial CBI investigation pointed towards collusion between forest officials and poachers,” Govind Ji submitted. “Despite these serious preliminary findings, this investigative freeze has remained in place for seven years.”
The controversy originates from a 2018 Uttarakhand High Court order directing the CBI to investigate tiger deaths over the preceding five years, specifically examining whether there was a nexus between forest officials and organised poaching gangs.
Following the High Court’s directive, the CBI registered a preliminary inquiry around October 2018, assessing technical reports from institutions such as the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
However, the investigation was soon halted after D.S. Khati, then Chief Wildlife Warden, approached the Supreme Court, claiming he had not been given a fair opportunity to present his case. On 22 October 2018, the Supreme Court issued an ex-parte interim stay, suspending the CBI’s work.
Environmental activist Atul Sati, who has now petitioned the apex court to lift the stay, maintains that crucial information was not disclosed when the stay was first granted.
Speaking to TNIE, Sati said, “The initial CBI probe indicated that some forest officials were actively working in tandem with poaching syndicates. A thorough and impartial investigation is critically needed in this matter.”
The lawyer representing the officials opposed the immediate removal of the stay, requesting time to file a comprehensive response due to the seriousness of the allegations.
The Supreme Court acknowledged the gravity of the issue and granted the Union Government, the State Government, and former Chief Wildlife Warden D.S. Khati three weeks to file their replies.
The bench stated that further action would be determined after hearing all parties. The case is expected to be heard next in three weeks, tentatively on 12 December.
It is noteworthy that tiger poaching in the Corbett Tiger Reserve came to light in 2015 after a tiger skin was found with smugglers arrested in Nepal. An investigation revealed that the skin had been smuggled from Corbett. In 2016, the Haridwar STF recovered five tiger skins and 125 kilogrammes of bones, four of which were confirmed to have come from tigers in Corbett Tiger Reserve.
