The court emphasized that the Forest Rights Act does not inhibit necessary public infrastructure developments where procedural norms are upheld, prioritizing public safety and interest.

JUDGMENT :

MURAHARI SRI RAMAN, J.

The petitioners, asserting to espouse the cause of tribal community claimed to be residing in forest area of Andharua Gram Panchayat in Khordha District in the vicinity of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, filed this writ petition in the nature of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) opposing laying/construction of road said to have been deviated from the original Comprehensive Development Plan (“CDP”, for convenience) unauthorisedly in order to evict the occupants and demolish the dwelling houses of tribal community, places of religious shrines and community activity centre, that are supposed to be protected under the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (for short, “the Forest Dwellers Act ”), and crave for grant of following relief(s):

“It is, therefore, prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be graciously pleased to:

a) Admit the writ application;

b) Call for the records;

c) Issue a rule NISI calling upon the opposite parties as to why the action of the opposite parties No.8-11 will not be declared illegal, arbitrary, malicious and contrary to the law;

d) And if the opposite parties do not show cause, or show insufficient cause issue a writ of appropriate nature and/or other appropriate order/orders setting aside the illegal realignment of road as under Annexure-2;

e) Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, compelling the opposite parties to desist from implementing the illegal realignment of the 200 feet wide road without lawful authority and to proceed with the construction of the original road trajectory as notified in the Extraordinary Gazette on 14th May, 2018 under Annexure-1;

f) Issue a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, nullifying the unlawful realignment of the road perpetrated by the Road Engineering Division Authorities;

g) Issue a writ of prohibition or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, restraining the opposite parties from executing the eviction and demolition of the villagers' dwelling houses and other structures without due process of law;

h) Pass any other order or direction as this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper in the exalted pursuit of justice;

i) Grant any other relief(s) which this Hon'ble Court, in its boundless wisdom, deems indispensable for the restoration of justice and the vindication of the villagers' rights;

j) And pass any other appropriate order/orders direction/directions as may be deemed fit and proper in the interest equitable justice and fair play.

And for this act of kindness, the petitioners as in duty bound shall remain ever pray.”

B. W.P.(C) No.15819 of 2025:

The petitioner in this writ petition has approached this Court with the following prayer(s):

“It is therefore prayed that this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to issue a rule nisi in the nature writ of Mandamus and/or any other writ and/or writs, direction and/or directions, order and/or orders calling upon the opposite parties to show cause as to why the road work taken as per Indian Road Congress Norms vide Annexure-3 (series) is now stalled/stopped since March, 2025, will not be started as soon as possible and should be completed without any further deviation within the time stipulated with the best interest of general public and/or the representation m