The Hindu : National : Dwindling tiger population: plea for probe

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Thursday, May 05, 2005

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Dwindling tiger population: plea for probe

Legal Correspondent

Supreme Court issues notice to Central Government, CBI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre and the CBI on an application for probe into the dwindling number of tigers in national parks and sanctuaries in the country. The CBI has already conducted a probe into the disappearance of tigers from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice Y. K. Sabharwal, Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S. H. Kapadia, while issuing notice on an application from Ashok Kumar, asked the Government to respond to the application by Thursday.

Mr. Kumar had written to Justice Pasayat seeking a direction to the CBI to continue with its investigation of the dwindling number of tigers in other reserves. Referring to the CBI report, which confirmed that no tiger was left in Sariska, he said the investigating agency should be asked to conduct a similar investigation in respect of other reserves such as Panna, Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore, Dudwa, Palamu, Kanha and Nagarjun Sagar, which faced similar problems.

The letter also sought a direction to the Centre and the Rajasthan Government to implement the CBI recommendations in regard to the Sariska Tiger Reserve. It wanted the CBI to submit quarterly reports on the investigation. Further, the petitioner said the CBI should also be empowered to register cases against those involved in poaching, irregularities and other illegal activities.

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