Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972

The appellants, an importer of mammoth fossil ivory and a carver, challenged the ban on their ivory under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, arguing that mammoth ivory is not covered by the term "ivory" and that the prohibition violates Articles 14 and 19(6) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court examined the statut…

The Supreme Court examined a writ petition filed by the Mullaperiyar Environmental Protection Forum seeking to set aside the 1886 lease agreement and related provisions, and to prevent the raising of the Mullaperiyar Dam water level beyond 136 ft. The Court held that Section 108 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, …

The Union of India sought modification of the Supreme Court's directions dated 3 June 2022 that mandated a uniform one‑kilometre eco‑sensitive zone (ESZ) around every protected forest and prohibited any new permanent structures within such zones. The Court examined the practical difficulties of a uniform ESZ, the impac…

The petitioners, displaced tea estate workers, and public interest litigants sought the removal of long‑standing encroachments and restoration of forest lands in the Agasthyamalai landscape, which includes the Singampatti Zamin forest leased to Bombay Burma Trading Corporation Limited for tea cultivation for over 95 ye…

The Supreme Court examined public‑interest petitions concerning illegal iron‑ore mining in Goa, the validity of the Justice Shah Commission report, and the status of mining leases deemed to have arisen from pre‑1961 Portuguese concessions. It held that the Commission’s report could not be quashed for procedural lapses,…

The petitioners sought a blanket prohibition on the installation of overhead transmission lines for solar power across roughly 99,000 square kilometres in Rajasthan and Gujarat, arguing that such lines threaten the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB). The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the conversion of…

The State of Uttar Pradesh appealed against a High Court order that allowed Lalloo Singh to retain a tractor trolley seized by forest officials under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The seizure occurred because the trolley was used to load sand from the Yamuna river bed inside a sanctuary. The trial magistrate had…

Essar Oil Ltd., Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd. and Gujarat Positra Port Co. sought to lay crude‑oil pipelines through the Jamnagar Marine National Park and Sanctuary. Public‑interest litigants challenged the Gujarat State Government's permission under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA) sections 29 and 35(6), argui…

The Supreme Court examined whether a licence could be granted to Nisar Khan for dealing in captive birds listed in Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 when hunting—including trapping—of those species is prohibited under Section 9. The High Court had directed the licensing authority to grant such a licenc…

The case concerned a seizure of a jeep, rifles and wildlife by police under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The accused offered to compound the offence under Section 54(1) and the Conservator of Forests ordered forfeiture of the seized items. The appellants appealed, arguing that the amendment to Section 54 gave …

The petitioners challenged the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's 2017 Notification and the 2021 Office Memorandum, which sought to grant ex post facto environmental clearances for projects that had commenced without prior clearance under the 2006 EIA Notification. The Court examined whether such retr…

M/s Shewalkar Developers Ltd. sought permission to construct a health/eco‑resort on Plot Nos. 14/3 and 14/4 in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, claiming the land was not forest land and that its title, derived from a 1991 sale deed, was unchallenged. The State of Madhya Pradesh contended that the plots formed part of the Pac…

The State of Himachal Pradesh sought permission to carry out silvicultural felling of Chil Pine, Khair and broad‑leaved forests up to 1,500 metres above sea level, arguing that limited felling is necessary for regeneration. The Supreme Court had earlier, by its 12‑December‑1996 and 14‑February‑2000 orders, imposed a bl…

The Consumer Education and Research Society challenged a Gujarat State Legislature resolution and a subsequent government notification that reduced the area of the Narayan Sarovar Chinkara Sanctuary from 765.79 sq km to 444.23 sq km under Sections 18(1) and 26A(3) of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. The petition sou…

The State of Uttar Pradesh sought to impose Rs 10 crore in damages on Anand Engineering College for discharging effluent into the National Chambal Sanctuary, invoking Section 33 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The Forest Department had issued multiple notices since 2003, but the college continued the discharge…

The petition, filed under Article 32, sought to stop intensive and semi‑intensive prawn farming in ecologically fragile coastal zones, to prohibit use of waste/wet lands for such farms, and to constitute a national coastal management authority. The Court examined whether modern shrimp aquaculture constitutes a prohibit…

The State of Bihar filed a complaint under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 alleging that the accused killed an elephant and removed its tusks. A Judicial Magistrate took cognizance of the offence and issued summons, while a parallel police investigation under the Indian Penal Code was ongoing. The accused invoked …

Pradeep Krishen, an environmentalist, filed a writ petition under Article 32 challenging a Madhya Pradesh Forest Department order that allowed villagers around sanctuaries and national parks to collect tendu leaves. He argued that the order was ultra‑violet to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and violated Articles …

The petitioners challenged the Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC) recommendations to demolish fish‑tanks (bunds) constructed inside Kolleru Lake Wildlife Sanctuary and to prohibit the use or transport of inputs for pisciculture, arguing that demolition could only follow acquisition of private lands and that the bunds …

On 25 July 2016 a turtle was seized from the respondent, Titty alias George Kurian, by forest officials. The turtle was identified by a senior veterinary surgeon as an "Indian Flap Shell" (Lissemys punctata), which is not the species listed in Part II of Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (the listed sp…

Motilal was arrested for possessing skins of protected wildlife under several provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The Central Government, invoking the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, issued a notification and, with the consent of the Uttar Pradesh Government, transferred the investigation to the…

The State of Madhya Pradesh seized a Tata Sumo vehicle carrying antlers under Section 50(1)(c) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and the owner, Madhukar Rao, sought its interim release on a supersedeas bond under Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The trial court granted release, but the State a…

The Okkiam Thoraipakkam Gram Panchayat resolved to build a shopping complex on a disused temple tank to resettle families displaced by a highway expansion, and the Tamil Nadu Government issued a GO permitting the construction. Ms. Susetha filed a writ petition alleging that the tank, as a water body, must be preserved …

The Supreme Court examined whether tiger safaris can be treated like zoos under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and whether the proposed tiger safari at Pakhrau in Corbett Tiger Reserve was lawful. It held that a zoo, as defined in s.2(39), is an ex‑situ conservation establishment and tiger safaris, as envisioned b…

The petition challenged the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s notification dated 29 January 2025 (S.O. 523(E)) and the accompanying Office Memorandum of 30 January 2025, which altered the regime of environmental clearance for building and construction projects under Entry 8(a) and 8(b) of the 2006 Sc…

The Animal and Environment Legal Defence Fund challenged the Madhya Pradesh government's order granting 305 fishing permits to tribals residing in the Pench National Park area, arguing that such permits would damage the park's biodiversity and contravene the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Indian Forest Act. T…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) bars prosecution under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for theft of sand and gravels from riverbeds. The Court held that offences under Section 21 of the MMDR Act (contravention of mining lease conditions) are distin…

The Supreme Court examined applications arising from a Central Empowered Committee (CEC) report on illegal mining in Jamua Ramgarh wildlife sanctuary, Rajasthan, and the broader issue of eco‑sensitive zones (ESZ) around protected forests. It affirmed that the State must act as a trustee of natural resources under the P…

The State of Kerala sought to confiscate a vehicle used by the accused to transport ivory obtained from the illegal killing of wild elephants, invoking Section 61A of the Kerala Forest Act, 1961. The vehicle was seized in 1996 and the District Judge, upheld by the High Court, set aside the confiscation, holding that iv…

The Range Forest Officer alleged that the directors and office bearers of a company illegally uprooted trees using a JCB, violating Section 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, and sought prosecution under Section 19. The Special Environment Court took cognizance of the complaint and issued process against the …