The Uttarakhand High Court has explicitly ruled that the Supreme Court’s directives offering legal protection for elephant corridors in Tamil Nadu apply to the Himalayan state too.
The judgment is seen as a crucial step in safeguarding the state’s vital elephant migratory routes against unchecked development as the state has lost 234 elephants in just five years. The official head count which stood at 2,026 has now dropped to 1,792. Conservationists were overjoyed after Chief Justice G Narendar, on the eve of his retirement, delivered the landmark verdict directing notification of elephant corridors in Uttarakhand. “Revisiting the issue would be a duplication and redundant exercise, as this Court and the State are bound by the precedent set by the Apex Court,” Justice G Narendar observed while disposing of a public interest litigation (PIL) on the matter. Senior advocate Abhijay Negi, who represented petitioners, said the High Court expressly ruled that the apex court directives prioritising elephant corridors in TN has been made binding on Uttarakhand.
“Uttarakhand, almost five times smaller in geographical area compared to Uttar Pradesh, has 10 elephant corridors while UP has only eight,” Negi told TNIE, highlighting the significance of the migratory zones of the scheduled species.
The HC ruling builds on previous legal battles concerning habitat destruction. Negi cited an earlier case involving the Shivalik Elephant Reserve, a massive conservation area which covers eight districts. “When Uttarakhand de-notified the 5,405 square km Shivalik Elephant Reserve in 2021, Reenu Paul immediately filed a writ petition and there was a stay order,” he explained. The de-notification was to facilitate expansion of Jolly Grant Airport but the government re-notified it following opposition and legal challenges. Negi said the Government of India itself had supported the writ petitioner (Paul) and opposed Jolly Grant Airport expansion in Thano area, calling it has ‘high conservation value.’ He also referred to a division bench order from March 12, 2025, by Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Ashish Naithani and said nearly 4,000 trees were cut in the Shivalik corridor despite a clear judicial restraint order. “The court had explicitly directed the standing counsel to ‘intimate the officers not to commence tree felling till the next date of hearing,” Negi stated. The judgement comes as a huge boost for conservation as elephant mortality presents a grave crisis in the state. Official figures reveal that 573 elephants have perished over the last 25 years, with 22 deaths recorded in 2025 alone.
A significant threat comes from electrified fencing. In the last 25 years, 52 elephants died from electrocution, including three in 2025. “These wires often carry high voltage, instantly killing the elephants,” chief wildlife warden RK Mishra said.
Road and rail accidents are also major killers, with 69 elephants killed by vehicles and 29 by trains, particularly near Ramnagar and Haridwar. Negi cautioned that failure to act according to the HC order would invite punitive measures against non-compliant officials. "In case of non-action, we will move for contempt of court to ensure that elephants continue to have the benefit of forest linkages. If there is a recorded decline in the elephant population, it signifies that the entire ecosystem is being jeopardized," he added.