Public interest litigations must be substantiated by clear evidence, and claims based solely on unverified sources are insufficient for judicial intervention.

JUDGMENT

Dated this the 24th day of June, 2021

S. Manikumar, CJ

Instant public interest writ petition is filed by the petitioner for the following reliefs:

(i) To issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, to depute Central Bureau of Investigation or any other appropriate Central Investigating Agency, to find out the real culprits involved in the forest robbery case, recently happened in the State of Kerala.

(ii) To issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, commanding the respondents that all enquiries conducted by the Government should be under the supervision of this Court in this matter.

(iii) To issue a writ of mandamus or any appropriate writ, order or direction, commanding the 4th respondent, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India, New Delhi, represented by its Director General of Forest, to investigate the matter and take appropriate action.

2. Short facts leading to the filing of this writ petition are, petitioner, claiming to be a senior freelance journalist and a political party worker, has preferred this Public Interest Litigation, with the objective of safeguarding the Constitutional rights of the people, since he had faced a fraudulent act and violation of public interest by respondent Nos.1 to 3, viz., State of Kerala, represented by its Principal Secretary; Forest Department of Kerala, represented by its Secretary; and Revenue Department, represented by its Secretary, Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram respectively.

3. Petitioner has further stated that across the State, trees grown on private lands, have been cut and removed for commercial purposes over the past year, due to a controversial order, being used as a cover by the powerful timber mafia. Petitioner has alleged that a section of revenue, forest officials, and politicians of the ruling party, are conspiring with the timber mafia and they have used the lockdown, following the COVID-19 pandemic, as an additional cover, to cut and transport valuable trees from private lands. Referring to Article 51-A(g) of the Constitution of India, he submitted that it is the fundamental duty to protect and preserve forests, lakes and rivers, and to have compassion for every living being. According to him, the phrase “living being” can be interpreted to include trees as well.

4. Petitioner has further stated that Kerala witnessed a large-scale felling of protected trees from private land, based on an amendment in the Kerala Forest [Prohibition of Felling of Trees Standing on Land Temporarily or Permanently Assigned] Rules, 1995, which permitted the private land owners to chop all reserved trees, except sandalwood. The order was heavily criticized. The amendment could facilitate cutting and removing of thousands of trees in Kerala.

5. Petitioner has further stated that Kerala's Forest Department officials raided a timber mill at Perumbavoor in Ernakulam District and seized rosewood worth more than Rs.50 lakhs. It was being transported illegally from the environmentally fragile Mutti South Village in the northern hill district of Wayanad. Later, officials seized two truckloads of teak from Pulakkod near Chelakkara in Trissur District and in another incident in Marayoor, Idukki, found cut and transport even sandalwood trees from private lands.

6. Petitioner has further stated that from reliable sources, he came to understand that timber worth at least rupees hundred crores has been felled and removed in