Supreme Court takes suo motu notice of forest land encroachment in Uttarakhand, orders immediate halt on constructions

The Supreme Court on Monday initiated a suo motu case over large-scale encroachment and illegal grabbing of forest land in Uttarakhand. [Anita Kandwal vs State of Uttarakhand]

The matter concerning the unauthorised occupation of protected land in the hill districts came up before a Bench comprising of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi during the Court’s vacation sitting.

The Court ordered immediate halt on constructions on forest land and also asked the Forest Department to take possession of all vacant land.

During the hearing, CJI Kant strongly criticised the State administration for not taking timely action.

The Court emphasised that the circumstances required immediate judicial involvement, especially considering the serious allegations relating to forest land and the lack of response from the officials responsible for protecting it. CJI Kant said,

"What is shocking to us is that the State of Uttarakhand and authorities are sitting like mute spectators when forest land is being grabbed in front of their eyes. Thus we initiate a suo motu case."

Acting on these concerns, the Court directed the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand and the Principal Conservation Secretary to set up a fact-finding committee.

The committee has been asked to assess the situation on the ground and report back with all relevant details, so as to enable the Court to understand the scale of the encroachment and how the State machinery has responded.

Besides ordering inquiry, the Court also imposed immediate restrictions to prevent the situation from worsening. It barred private parties from creating any third-party rights over forest land and made it clear that no construction is to take place.

"Private parties are stopped from creating any third party rights and no construction shall take place," said CJI Kant.

The Bench effectively put a stop to all ongoing or planned activities until further orders are issued.

Additionally, the Court ordered that all vacant land, except areas where residential houses already stand, must be taken into possession by the Forest Department.

"Vacant land other than residential houses shall be taken in possession by the forest department," said CJI Kant.

This step is intended to prevent any further changes from occurring on the ground while the matter remains under the Court’s consideration.

The Bench ordered that the case be posted for further hearing on January 5, upon the reopening of the Court.

Illegal occupation of forest land has become a major concern in Uttarakhand, with media reports showing that encroachments have spread across extensive stretches of fragile hill terrain.

In many areas, especially near rapidly growing urban and semi-urban zones, forest land has gradually been taken over for private use, often without formal permission.

These incursions have long raised worries about the vulnerability of ecologically sensitive regions and how easily protected land was being appropriated.