Uttarakhand activist seeks lifting of SC stay to revive CBI probe into Corbett tiger poaching

DEHRADUN: A prominent environmental activist from Uttarakhand has formally requested the Supreme Court to vacate a seven-year-old stay order and revive a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged tiger poaching rackets operating within the Corbett National Park.Atul Sati, based in Joshimath, applied in early November, arguing that the Supreme Court was misled in 2018 when it halted the investigation ordered by the Uttarakhand High Court.Speaking to the TNIE, Sati’s counsel Govind Jee alleged that “critical evidence, including findings from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the NTCA report, and an internal report by then HoFF Jairaj, was deliberately withheld from the apex court.”The stay was granted in October 2018 on a petition filed by the then Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden, D.S. Khati. Khati had contended that the High Court ordered the CBI probe solely on the basis of newspaper reports and without hearing the state’s perspective.“Khati misled the court,” Sati’s application states. The CBI probe had been ordered after “damning facts” emerged about the scale of poaching. The recovery of tiger skins in Nepal, later authenticated by WII as originating from Corbett tigers, suggested a sophisticated cross-border poaching network requiring a federal-level investigation.A CBI affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court in October 2020 revealed evidence indicating connivance between forest officers and poachers, as well as failures to follow NTCA guidelines in tiger death cases. Further inquiry is needed to confirm allegations of evidence tampering by officers. Notably, the Supreme Court had stayed the earlier CBI probe (September–October 2018) following Khati’s petition.The application, filed through advocate Govind Jee, directly counters the claim that the state was unheard. It points out that Khati himself had previously filed an affidavit in the High Court, contradicting his later claim that he was denied an opportunity to present the state’s response.



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