SC seeks Centre’s reply on arming forest guards

: Concerned over rising cases of violence against forest rangers by poachers and encroachers, the Supreme Court on Friday termed the situation “serious” and asked the central government to spell out within four weeks measures such as arming them with weapons and providing them helmets and bulletproof vests.

What acted as a trigger for the court to pass the direction was an application filed by environmental activist Kishore Rithe highlighting brutal assaults on forest guards and officers by poachers, timber mafia with weapons in the recent past.

“There is an alarming rise in frequency and ferocity of brutal assaults on forest officials in the last six to eight months in various states.”

Rithe stated in an application moved through his nongovernment organisation, Nature Conservation Society, in a pending case.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said: “We are of the view that the situation is serious...It is difficult to imagine how any law can be enforced by f orest staff who are unarmed against poachers who are l i kely to be heavily armed…We don’t know what steps are being taken by the states where poaching is rampant to protect forest staff.”

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Cent re, promised to work out a solution after consulting states.

“We do not understand this unequal playing field where some states have armed forest guards while many don’t. Each forest officer has a responsibility equal to a policeman in a city,” observed the bench, also comprising j ustices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.