The Supreme Court Pulls Up Uttarakhand High Court for entertaining a writ petition and staying a prosecution sanction order against a senior forest officer while the apex court was already monitoring the matter of illegal constructions and tree felling inside the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran expressed its strong displeasure over the High Court’s intervention, observing that although High Courts are constitutional courts, they must exercise judicial discipline when the Supreme Court is seized of a case.
The apex court noted that it had been supervising the CBI’s investigation into the Corbett matter under the long-pending T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India & Ors. proceedings.
During an earlier hearing on 8 September 2025, the Court had orally observed that the Uttarakhand Government delayed granting prosecution sanction against certain officers. Acting upon those observations, the State granted sanction on 16 September 2025 against one officer, Rahul, Chief Conservator of Forests.
However, the officer moved the Uttarakhand High Court, challenging the sanction order. On 14 October 2025, the High Court not only admitted the petition but also stayed the sanction’s operation. The Supreme Court took serious exception to this move, holding that such action “virtually amounts to interference” with proceedings pending before the apex court.
The Bench remarked that both the officer and the High Court had acted improperly. It observed that the officer had been attending the apex court hearings through video conferencing and was fully aware of the ongoing directions.
Instead of filing a separate writ petition before the High Court, he should have approached the Supreme Court for relief.
The Supreme Court Pulls Up Uttarakhand High Court further directing that the writ petition pending before the High Court be withdrawn and transferred to itself. The order passed by the High Court on 14 October 2025 has been stayed.
The Court has also issued a notice to the said officer, Rahul, to appear before it on 11 November 2025 to show cause as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.
This episode is part of the continuing monitoring by the Supreme Court in the Corbett Tiger Reserve case, where large-scale illegal constructions and felling of trees have been unearthed. The CBI has already registered an FIR and has been filing progress reports before the Court.
By reiterating that High Courts must refrain from parallel adjudication when the Supreme Court is seized of a matter, the Bench reaffirmed judicial discipline and hierarchy within the Indian constitutional framework.
Case Details
- Cause Title: In Re: T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad vs Union of India & Ors.
- Bench: Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran
- Date of Order: 30 October 2025
- Next Hearing: 11 November 2025
- Officer Involved: Rahul, Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand
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