Kerala High Court
Dr.R.K.Somasekharan vs Union Of India on 23 June, 2022
Author: S. Manikumar
Bench: S.Manikumar, Shaji P.Chaly
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.S.MANIKUMAR
&
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAJI P.CHALY
THURSDAY, THE 23RD DAY OF JUNE 2022 / 2ND ASHADHA, 1944
WP(C) NO. 934 OF 2021
PETITIONER:
DR.R.K.SOMASEKHARAN
AGED 69 YEARS, S/O.G.RAMAKRISHNA PILLAI,
VRINDAVAN VEEDU, VALAYANCHIRA,
VALAYANCHIRA (P.O.), PERUMBAVOOR,
ERNAKULAM - 683 556.
BY ADVS.
K.NIRMALAN
SRI.M.ABDUL RASHEED
RESPONDENTS:
1 UNION OF INDIA
REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FOREST,
INDIRA PARYAWARAN BHAVAN,
JORBAGH ROAD, NEW DELHI - 110 003.
2 STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR
WILDLIFE, NATIONAL BOARD OF WILDLIFE,
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FOREST AND CLIMATE
CHANGE, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, INDIRA
PARYAWARAN BHAVAN, JORBAGH ROAD, NEW DELHI-110 003
3 STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
FOREST AND WILD LIFE DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT
SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 001.
4 PRINCIPAL CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS (WILD LIFE)
AND CHIEF WILDLIFE WARDEN, FOREST HEAD QUARTERS,
NANDAVANAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 001.
BY ADVS.
MANU S., ASG OF INDIA
SMT.SREEKALA K.L., CGC R1 & 2
SRI. NAGARAJ NARAYANAN, SPL. GOVERNMENT PLEADER
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR
ADMISSION ON 23.06.2022, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY
DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
W.P(C).934/2021
2
JUDGMENT
Dated this the 23rd day of June, 2022 S. Manikumar, CJ.
Instant public interest litigation is filed seeking for the following reliefs:
"That a writ of certiorari or any other writ, order or direction, calling upon the records in respect of Exhibits-P1 and its further action and set aside the same;
(ii) That a writ of mandamus or other writ, order or direction commanding the respondents to create a Special Task Force to dispose of such dangerous animals under Section 133 of Criminal Procedure."
2. Short facts leading to the writ petition are as under:
The petitioner, is a Doctor/Physician. He is also an environmental activist, who has always been fighting for the protection of the environment and Mother Nature. Now, the petitioner has approached this Court against the stand taken by the State of Kerala on the issue of indiscreet killing of the Wild Boars by trying to include the same in Schedule-V of the Wild Life Protection Act as "Vermin", so that the wild boars could be totally eliminated by W.P(C).934/2021 3 culling them down. The sad part is that even before getting sanction from the Central Government, the State Government has given a green signal to shoot down the wild boars, by imposing certain restrictions and regulations, which are to be followed before shooting down the wild boar.
2.1 Exhibit-P1 is the Government Order, G.O. (Rt) No.111/2020/F&WLD dated 18.05.2020 issued by the State Government issuing guidelines and procedure for killing wild boars with licensed guns. According to the petitioner, few people taking advantage of this order, have started hunting down the wild boars for their meat as well as for its tusks, which of course has a high value in the illegal market. This indiscreet killing of the wild boar by the said poachers has to be kept in check and strict action has to be taken against them, is the contention.
2.2. On the basis of Exhibit-P1, the Divisional Forest Officer, Thiruvananthapuram issued an order, No.L-1020/2020 dated 12.10.2020 (Exhibit-P2), authorizing private persons to kill the wild boars. By G.O. (Rt) No.284/2020/F&WLD dated 18.11.2020, Government extended the said order for six months (Exhibit-P3).
W.P(C).934/2021 4 2.3. It is further contended that the State Government has sought the permission of the Union Government to declare wild boar as vermin, so that it will legalize the culling of the animal; Government has taken such a decision to declare the wild boar as vermin on the basis of the complaints raised by the people living in the forest fringes; such people complain that the animals are raiding their crops, which have affected their livelihood and on the basis of such complaints, Kerala State Government has imposed certain conditions and given permission for the holders of valid gun licenses to shoot the animal; that this permission is now being widely misused by the poachers for getting the tusks of the wild boar, as well as by the locals to get the meat of the wild boar; and hence, even without any human-wild boar conflict, the local people venture into the forest and hunt down the wild boar for its tusks and meat. which practice that has to be snipped down. It is also submitted that there are various instances where the wild boar has been killed, not in cases where the wild boar has attacked the humans and raided the crops, but for selfish intentions as mentioned above. The only reason why the Kerala State W.P(C).934/2021 5 Government has taken this extreme step to seek the permission of the Union Government to categorise this animal as a vermin, is due to the failure of the measures adopted by the State Government to provide any relief for the people against the crop raiding by the wild boar. The said statement is not true in all senses. The State Government should venture into more possibilities to keep the issues under control rather than taking such drastic steps all of a sudden.
2.4. The petitioner being an animal lover, is highly aggrieved by the aforesaid stand taken by the Kerala State Government in so far as it seeks the Central Government's permission to include the wild boar in the list of vermin and to cull the said animals.
2.5. It is further submitted that the Kerala State Government should not forget the term biodiversity; Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth including all the plants, animals, bacteria and fungi; that many of the species are on surge of extinction due to the human activities, putting the Earth's magnificent biodiversity at risk. The humans always tend to think about humans and only humans and nothing else. All of the W.P(C).934/2021 6 species on Earth work together to survive and maintain their ecosystems. Each and every living animal, birds or insects have their own unique traits and have their own unique role in preserving and balancing this ecosystem. Hence even the wild boar do have their own role which the humans are yet to identify. All the living organisms, however small, do have their role in up- keeping and preserving the ecosystem. It is the further case of the petitioner that it is on the pretext that the wild boar caused extensive damage to a vast extent of crops, thereby causing economic losses and threats to the livelihood of farmers living in and around immediate peripheries of the forest area that the present methodology is adopted by the government.
2.6. It is the further case of the petitioner that it is the bounden duty of the forest officials/Department to find out solutions for the same and protect the wildlife as well as the life and crops of the farmers/human inhabitation, but instead now they have adopted a convenient shortcut to solve all these problems by just simply eliminating the said animal by including it in the list of vermin. If the said stand is adopted to solve the losses W.P(C).934/2021 7 and threats faced by the people living in and around immediate peripheries of the forest area, then irrespective of the animal, even the Tigers, Cheetah, Leopards etc. have to be included in the list of vermin as they always attack human life and are of no use to human life. Even though everyone is well aware that these animals cause harm to human life, they are being protected from being hunted down by the poachers. The only reason for giving such protection to these animals is to protect our ecosystem, which is very vital in the long run. In the case of wild boar, a different yardstick is taken and they are tried to be included in the list of vermin and eliminated from the ecosystem. This approach taken by the Kerala State Government is being challenged here in this Writ Petition.
2.7. The Kerala State Government is not at all taking into consideration as to what can be done to resolve the issue without including the wild boar in the list of vermin and eliminating them altogether. First of all, it is to be borne in mind that the crop damage by wild boar is very common along the immediate peripheries of Wildlife Sanctuaries, National Parks and forests. Of W.P(C).934/2021 8 course, there are several areas in and around human habitations on the outskirts of villages, towns and cities where they also do considerable damage to crops, vegetable fields and orchards. This man-animal conflict is mainly due to the conversion of forests into large-scale monoculture plantations, shifting cultivation, overgrazing, forest cutting and encroachment in the home ranges, which reduces the availability of natural food for the wild animals. In such circumstances, the wild animals encroach into the human habitation and explore the possibility of obtaining food.
2.8. There is also a hidden danger in including the wild boar in the list of vermin and eliminating them. These wild boars are a source of food for the predators like Lion, Tiger, Cheetah, Leopard and other wild animals. Hence, when these wild animals are deprived of their food, then they will naturally venture into the human habitation area and explore the possibility of obtaining food from the locality which of course would cost many human lives. This aspect is very important to be considered by the State Government before taking such a drastic step to eliminate the wild boars by including them in the list of vermin.
W.P(C).934/2021 9 2.9. The legal provisions for objective management of human wildlife conflict are:-
(i) Section 11(1)(a) of the wildlife (protection) Act 1972 authorises the Chief wildlife Wardens to permit hunting of any wild animal specified in schedule-I if it has become dangerous to human life or is so disabled or deceased as to beyond recovery. However, killing of such animals can be resorted to only when such animals cannot be captured, tranquilized or translocated.
(ii) For the wild animals other than schedule 1, that is those specified in schedule II, III or IV or a group of such animals in a specified area, section 11(1)(b) also empowers the Chief wildlife Warden or the authorised officers, to permit hunting of an animal specified in schedule II, III or IV or a group of such animals in a specified area if it has become dangerous to human life or to property ( including standing crops on any W.P(C).934/2021 10 land) or is disabled or deceased as to be beyond recovery.
2.10. Thus, it is clear that the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has adequate provisions to take corrective actions in case a conflict arise between human being and wildlife, and the Chief Wildlife Warden or the authorised officers are expected to diligently exercise the legal powers conferred on them, to address the problem faced by the public to the extent possible, without taking any drastic steps like including an animal in the list of vermin and eliminating them altogether.
2.11. There are many measures/solutions which could be adopted by the Forest Officers/Department to curtail the human- wild boar conflict. Some of the measures are as follows:-
(i) Construct and maintain electric fences with energizers in problem areas. The fences has to be constructed and maintained by the Forest Department as the tribal communities or the local people living nearby may not have the technical know-how to maintain electric fences with the energizers.
W.P(C).934/2021 11
(ii) The forest Department should maintain the availability of drinking water in the forest areas during summer, either by constructing check dams or by providing artificial water holes thereby reducing the chances of the wild boar or other wild animals to venture into the human inhabitation.
(iii) During the summer season, hectares of the forest areas are burnt due to various reasons. This contributes to the local movement of wild animals to safer places. Some of them may also enter the agriculture areas. To solve this problem, causes for fire may be prevented in the forest areas.
2.12. In short it is the primary duty of the Forest Department to safeguard the forest as well as the Wildlife in it. It is for them to take effective steps to curtail the wild animals from venturing into the local inhabitation. If at all wild boars venture into human inhabitation, the forest officials should try to capture it alive and relocate it to the dense forest so that the chance of it coming back is remote as done in case of other wild animals. Only if the wild boar creates such nuisance, it needs to be eliminated. If the present attempt of the State Government is accepted, then the wild boar will be hunted down for its meat and tusks and soon the W.P(C).934/2021 12 wild boar will become extinct. Hence if at all the wild boar need to be killed, it should be done only in such circumstances where it is unavoidable. Hence the State Government should identify along with the Forest Department the areas where the wild boar has made the crop cultivation impossible and allow to kill the boar if it is otherwise unavoidable. Therefore, it is finally submitted that the Government should appoint a Special Task Force to kill the boar.
3. A detailed statement has been field by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, 4th respondent, which reads as under:
2. It is submitted that the State Government has power to authorize the Chief Wildlife Warden to delegate powers vested on him under Section 5(2) of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 to all the Range Officers of the territorial ranges and the Assistant Wildlife Wardens of the wildlife ranges to shoot wild boars that damage agricultural crops. Section 11(b) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and will initially be implemented on a pilot basis in selected areas which have recorded heavy crop raids by wild animals.
3 It is submitted that Government after careful examination of the same, issued G.O. (Rt.) No. 265/201 I/F&WLD dated 17.06.2011, Annexure R4(a), delegating Range Officers the power to grant permission to kill wild boars which cause damage to agricultural crops.
4. It is submitted that the Government has clarified Annexure R4(a) by G.0.(Rt.) No. 281/201 1/F&WLD dated 23.06.2011 W.P(C).934/2021 13 (Annexure R4(b)). The Government Order gave procedures for shooting of wild boars. The Government Order also specified condition on which the permission for shooting can be granted.
Both the Government Orders were issued for a limited period of one year on experimental basis. However no wild boars were killed by virtue of the above Government Order within the said one year period granted on experimental basis. Therefore the currency of the above Government Order was further extended for another one year from 23.06.2012, vide G.O.(Rt.) No. 399/12/Forest dated 04.08.2012 (Annexure R4(c)).
5. It is submitted that the above Government Order was further amended considering the difficulty in implementation and suggestions raised by general public. Government Order including the above Suggestions was issued for a period of 3 years vide GO (MS) No. 31/2013/Forest dated 19.03.2013 (Annexure R4(d)). The procedure for shooting of wild boars specified in the above Government Order was relaxed by deleting the condition that prior permission from forest officers is required for shooting wild boars vide GO (MS) No. 95/2014/Forest dated 17.11.2014. The validity of this Government Order was for 3 years from 19.03.2013 (Annexure R4(e)). Even after the expiry of 3 years the above government order was seldom implemented in field. People's representatives and general public have been giving many representations to the government to review the conditions of the Government Order So that the same could be implemented.
6. It is submitted that considering the large number of representations and feedback received from general public W.P(C).934/2021 14 pointing out the difficulties experienced in implementing the permission granted vide the above Government Order, a fresh proposal was submitted to Government for issuing Government Order incorporating new suggestions. The State Government issued GO(MS) No. 7/2019/Forest dated 16.02.2019 incorporating new suggestions (Annexure R4(f)). Separate guidelines for implementing the aforesaid Government Order were also issued (Annexure R4 (g)). Chief Wildlife Warden was also authorized to delegate the powers conferred under Section 5(2) and 11(1 (b) of Wildlife Protection Act to Divisional Forest Officers/ Wildlife Wardens as per the Annexure R4(g). Accordingly Chief Wildlife Warden had delegated the powers for issuing orders for shooting problematic wild boars to all territorial Divisional Forest Officers and Wildlife Wardens as per Proceedings No. WL4-466/2011 dated 08.03.2019 (Annexure R4(h)). However even after amendments and lapse of almost 10 years after issuance of the first Government Order in 2011, no problematic wild boars were shot. This was due to some of the impractical provisions contained in procedure and conditions prescribed in G.O(Rt) No.281/201 I/F&WLD dated 23.6.2011 which are given hereunder:
Procedure The farmer, who repeatedly suffers on account of crop raiding by wild boars, shall make an application to the Range Officer/ Assistant Wildlife Warden having jurisdiction over the area requesting for shooting the Wild boars, specifying the location of his farmyard, details of crop damage and number and size of the problematic Wild boar/Wild boars. W.P(C).934/2021 15 The Range Officer/ Assistant Wildlife Warden in consultation with the President of the VSS/EDC/Member of the Grama Panchayath and after satisfying himself about the correctness of the petition, arrange the shooting of the crop raiding Wild boars within three days from the date of receipt of the application. Alternatively if he is not satisfied about the necessity to shoot the wild boar, he shall inform the petitioner in writing giving the reasons therefore within three days.
The shooting of the Wild boars shall be arranged utilizing the service of either the forest staff or hired shooters. The shooting shall be done only under the supervision of the forest staff. The hired shooters shall be paid at the rate of Rs. 500/- per each wild boar shot and killed.
The killed boar shall be covered by a mahazar to be prepared by a forest officer not below the rank of a Forester and two members of the public. The wild boars killed shall not be used for meat or any other purpose. They shall be sprinkled with kerosene and buried 3 feet deep or burnt.
All such cases shall be reported to Chief Wildlife Warden Immediately. Each Divisional Forest Officer shall constitute a Monitoring Committee with representatives of various farmers organizations and the local NGOS and monitor the impact of this order in terms of the reduction in the number of crop raids.
W.P(C).934/2021 16 Conditions No shooting of wild boars shall he allowed in any encroached forest land, No lactating wild boar shall be shot. No shooting of wild boars shall be allowed within the forest areas except in recognized tribal settlements. No shooting of wild boars shall be allowed in agricultural fields protected by elephant proof trench/solar fencing rubble wall erected at Government cost.
- If the wild boar escapes into the forests during the course of hunting, it shall not be hunted within the forests.
7. It is submitted that the aforesaid Government Order was amended including suggestions given by field officers and GO(Rt.) No. 111/2020/F&WLD dated 18.05.2020 (Annexure R4(i)) was issued for a period of 6 months. The impractical provisions contained in procedure and conditions prescribed in GO(MS) No. 7/2019/Forest dated 16.02.2019 were deleted and certain conditions were also suitably amended to facilitate implementation of the Government Order. The main amendments in the above Government Order were:
a. The powers for determining menace due to attack of wild boars were entrusted to Divisional Forest Officer/Wildlife Wardens.
b. Persons having licensed guns authorized by DFO were also allowed to shoot problematic wild boars. c. After preparing mahazar and filing stipulated proforma by the Forest Range Officer, the body of the wild boar can be disposed.
W.P(C).934/2021 17 Following restrictions were also imposed on shooting of wild boars in the above GO.
No lactating wild boar shall be shot.
No shooting of wild boars shall be allowed within the forest areas.
8. It is submitted that the Divisional Forest Officers were also directed to prepare a panel of persons having licensed guns willing to shoot wild boars for implementation of the government order. It was also stipulated that only those wild boars which are causing destruction to life, property and cultivation were allowed to be shoot. Besides, Divisional Forest Officer has powers to implement this order in areas having wild boar menace based on the recommendation of Jana Jagratha Samithis. A remuneration of Rs. 1000/- was also to be paid to shooters for each wild boar killed.
9. It is submitted that a total number of 75 wild boars consisting of 36 females and 39 males were killed by empanelled licensed gun viz. holders. The order was mostly utilized in three Divisions viz., Thiruvananthapuram, Ranni and Kozhikode.
Division wise number of wild boars killed are given below:
Thiruvananthapuram - 41 Ranni - 04 Kozhikode - 30 Maximum number of wild boars killed in a single day is 12 number in Palode Range of Thiruvananthapuram Division on 29.10.2020. Most of the incidence of killing happened far away from forest W.P(C).934/2021 18 boundary where the wild boars had become resident amongst human habitation and agricultural field.
10. It is true that wild pig (Sus Scrofa) is wild animal coming as Item No. 19 of the Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. 1972. As per Section 11 (1) (b) of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Chief Wildlife Warden is competent to permit any person to hunt any wild animal specified in Schedule II,Schedule III, or Schedule IV which has become dangerous to human life or to property (including standing crops on any land). The said section is reproduced hereunder.
11. Hunting of wild animals to be permitted in certain cases.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force and subject to the provisions of Chapter IV.-
(b) the Chief Wild Life Warden or the authorized officer may, if he is satisfied that any wild animal specified in Schedule II, Schedule or Schedule IV, has become dangerous to human life or to property (including standing crops on any land) or is so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery, by order in writing and stating the reasons therefore, permit any person to hunt 2 [such animal or group of animals in a specified area or cause such animal or group of animals in that specified area to be hunted].
Government has authorized Chief Wildlife Warden under Section 5(2) of the act to delegate his powers under Section 11(1)(b) of the Act. As far as it pertains to dealing with Wild Boars that has become dangerous to human life and property, to Divisional Forest Officers/Wildlife Wardens.
W.P(C).934/2021 19
11. It is submitted that the above referred Government Orders for shooting wild boars were issued after careful examination of the ground realities by an expert committee constituted for the above purpose. It was not a haphazard decision taken erroneously. But the decision was taken after detailed deliberation and after careful evaluation of the pros and corns of the issue. The decision was taken after a procedure duly prescribed in law in the exigencies of public interest in order to protect the life and property of the citizens of the country. The Government was compelled to initiate this owing to the factors like alarming increase in crop loss to farmers and agriculture in the State. Moreover, the State is duty bound to protect its citizens.
12. It is submitted that more than 300 complaints have received in the office of Chief Wildlife Warden from 2018 to 2020 regarding crop damage by wild boars. These complaints are received from agriculturists, agricultural co-operatives, local bodies. Panchayat Raj institutions and even by members of Legislative Assembly in the State Legislature, has compelled the Government to take this fully justified legal remedy available in the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Several scientific studies by institutions like Kerala Forest Research Institute and also consultation with scientific community have induced the Government to issue the order for shooting wild boar. Even though the Government Order were not uniformly utilized through entire state, there is substantial reduction in the complaints from public received to this Department. W.P(C).934/2021 20
13. It is submitted that since GO (Rt.) No. 111/2020/F&WLD dated 18.05.2020 was felt to be prudent enough for reducing menace due to wild boars, the currency of the above GO was extended to another 6 months vide GO(Rt.) No. 284/2020/F&WLD dated 18.11.2020 (Annexure R4(j)).
14. It is submitted that over the past 3 years, 3 human deaths were reported due to wild boar attack in Kozhikode. Kasaragode and Ranni Forest Divisions. This is in addition to the extensive crop damage caused by them. About 3941 applications were received for compensation for crop damage/ injuries/ death caused by wild boar attack during 2017 to 2019 and 318.44 Crores were spent from exchequer for payment of Compensation. A tabular statement is given below:
Sl. year No. cases of crop Amount distributed No damage/injuries/death by for the loss sustained . wild pig attack (in Lakhs) 1 2017 1329 113.00 2 2018 1253 99.25 3 2019 1359 106.19 Total 3941 318.44 More than 573 Villages in 59 Taluk have been affected by menace or wild boars as on date. Many of these areas are located more than10 kilometers from nearest forest area, which itself shows that a good population of wild boars are resident in thickly populated areas. These wild boars which are resident in populated areas primarily depend on cultivated crops for their food, aggravating human animal conflict. True Copy of the list of areas affected by wild boars is produced and marked as Annexure R4(k). Meeting of State Wildlife Board held 12.11.2018 had decided to submit W.P(C).934/2021 21 proposal to Central Government for declaring wild boar as vermin after detailed study. Accordingly State Government had submitted a proposal to the above effect to Central Government. However this request have been declined by Central Government citing that provisions Contained in Section 11(1) (b) of Wildlife Protection Act 1972, and to consider utilizing the service of Panchayath Raj institution for dealing with problematic wild boars. A true copy of letter No. F.No. 8-31/2020-WL is produced herewith and marked as Annexure R4(l).
15. It is submitted that the Government Order issued for shooting problematic wild boars does not permit hunting inside reserved forests or protected areas. Also shooting of lactating animals is prohibited. Therefore the contention raised by the petitioner is that the said order will lead to extinction of the species is baseless. Since shooting of wild boars inside reserve forests and protected area is not permitted, carnivores such as tiger and leopard will not be deprived of their food source. Moreover the said Government Order envisages elimination of only those problematic wild boars entering inhabited areas. Shooting of wild boars as per the above Government Order is done under supervision of forest department staff and body of hunted animals are buried by pouring kerosene. Therefore the averment that wild boars are hunted for meat and tusks under the control of Government Order is absolutely baseless.
16. It is submitted that the suggestions given in the writ petition like capturing, trans-locating and sterilization of problematic wild boars are not practically feasible and is beyond the means of the Government. The Kerala Forest Department regularly conducted wild animals census, but no population control measures are W.P(C).934/2021 22 initiated, as it is impractical in the case of wild animals and is not an approved wildlife management technique.
17. It is submitted that Forest Department had been undertaking habitat improvement works so as to enhance the availability of food and water to wildlife within the forests. So far 151 check dams and 27 water holes have been Constructed. Also sufficient funds are made available for repairing damaged check dams, desiltation of water holes, planting of fruit bearing trees within forest areas and gully plugging in order to ensure food and water availability for animals within the forest areas. To ensure that wild animals do not enter inhabited areas, construction of 2413.7 kms. of solar fencing, 631 kms. elephant proof trenches, 178.133 kms. elephant proof wall, 6 km. stone pitched trenches, 26 kms. bio fence, 248 kms. kayyala and 1.2 kms. crash guard rope fencing had been constructed across Kerala. Also sufficient funds had been made available for payment of compensation due to wild boar attack.
18. It is submitted that the interest taken by the petitioner in protection and welfare of wild animals and in wildlife conservation through the writ petition is appreciable. However the apprehensions raised in the writ petition are baseless and devoid of merits and none of reliefs sought in the writ petition are maintainable,as these respondents are authorized by Wildlife Protection Act to issue order for hunting of problematic wild boars.
4. We have heard Sri. M. Abdul Rasheed for the petitioner Smt.Sreekala K.L, Central Government Counsel for Union Government and the Standing Committee of the National Board W.P(C).934/2021 23 for Wild Life-respondents 1 and 2 and Sri. Nagaraj Narayanan, learned Special Government Pleader for State and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wild Life)-respondents 3 and 4 and perused the pleading and material on record.
5. The basic contention advanced by the petitioner is that consequent to the orders issued by the Government, indiscreet killing of wild boar is taking place which is seriously interfering with the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act and the impact of the order is that the species of Wild boar will be eliminated. That apart, it is contended that the meat of wild boar is of much demand in bar hotels, in occasions and ceremonies and even though the licences are issued by incorporating conditions, conditions are misused and the wild boar meat is used by such licensees for consumption and for sale of the same to hotels and various establishments. That apart it is the case of the petitioner that the orders issued by the State Government enabling the licensees to shoot wild boar is causing serious prejudice to the environment and the licensees are even shooting the wild boars in the forest area.
W.P(C).934/2021 24
6. From the statement filed by the Principal conservator of Forest, which is extracted above, it is clear that orders were being issued by the State Government from the year 2011 and successively by making modifications. In fact, on a perusal of the statement and the notification produced along with the same, it is quite clear and evident that the Government have issued such orders granting licence to limited number of persons, who are holding gun licence, with conditions, to protect the interest of farmers and agriculturists in the State of Kerala.
7. It is also clear that such licences happened to be issued since the population of wild boar have increased to an unprecedented level and due to which wild boars are coming out of the forest areas and destroying the farming activities in the agricultural farms operated by common people and due to which irreparable loss and injuries are caused not only the the farmers, but to the Government also consequent to the liability for payment of compensation for loss of damages to agricultural crops.
W.P(C).934/2021 25
8. It is interesting to note that the petitioner has only challenged Exhibit P1 Government Order dated 18.5.2020, where by the State Government has authorised the Forest Officials to grant prior sanction to the farmers to kill the wild boars entering their agricultural properties and causing destruction to the same and it was accordingly the previous order issued in the year 2011 was cancelled and the order dated 18.5.2020 is issued.
9. On a perusal of Exhibit P1 Government Order, it can be seen that every procedure is prescribed in the said order to shoot the wild boar and destruction of the carcasses. In order to appreciate the contents of the notification, it is extracted hereunder:
"KERALA GOVERNMENT SUMMARY Forest- Wildlife Department-Order of permission to shoot wild boars causing frequent damage/destruction in agriculture in Human Inhabitations and the conditions and guidelines for the same.
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Forest-Wildlife(D) Department G.0.(Rt) No.111/2020/F&WLD Dated 18/05/2020, Thiruvananthapuram
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Reference-
1) G.0.(Ordinary) No. 265/2011/Forest Dated 17/06/2011 W.P(C).934/2021 26
2) G.0.(Ordinary)No. 281/2011/Forest Dated 23/06/2011
3) G.0.(Ordinary) No. 399/2012/Forest Dated 04/08/2012
4) G.0.(M.S) No. 31/2013/Forest Dated 19/03/2013
5) G.0.(Hand) No. 95/2014/Forest Dated 17/11/2014
6) G.0.(Hand)No. 7/2019/Forest Dated 16/02/2019
7) Letter No-WL-4-466/1 dated 03/01/2020 of the Principal Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife warden ORDER An order had been passed (as per Reference 1) giving charge to the concerned forest department officials to issue conditional permit for shooting of wild boars which causes damages to the agricultural land in the state by pre licensed farmers. The conditions/ guidelines to be followed while shooting the wild boars causing damage to agriculture has been issued as per G.O mentioned in Reference no. 2 above. The government has passed various orders as per reference (3), (4), (5) above by providing timely and adequate modifications in Reference (2) above.
2. Thereafter an order as per reference 6 above has been passed by the government, delegating the powers vested in the chief wildlife warden to Divisional Forest officer and Wildlife warden to issue permission to shoot wild boar.
3. Due to the practical difficulties in shooting the wild boars causing damage to agriculture, even after the expiry of 1 year from the date of issue of the order, a request was placed before the government by the Principal Chief Forest conservator (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden, suggesting modifications to the order as per reference 6 above.
W.P(C).934/2021 27
4. The government has verified in detail, the recommendations of the principal chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden. And accordingly the conditions and procedures to be followed, mentioned along with the previous government orders have been cancelled and new order has been passed with new conditions and guidelines. 5 This order shall be valid for a period of 6 months from the date of this order.
1. APPLICABLE WILD BOARS Only those wild boars which cause danger to human life/ damage to property or agriculture shall be permitted to be shot. Only licensed guns shall be used for the purpose of shooting.
2. AREA If the Divisional Forest Officer/ Wildlife warden receives a complaint along with the recommendations of the Public Awareness Committee, and if he is satisfied that their exists wild boar annoyance in such area, then this order shall be implemented in such area. The Divisional Forest Officer/ Wildlife warden must provide in writing the permission/ order for shooting such wild boar in such area.
3. PROCEDURE:
i. The concerned Divisional officer/ Wild life warden shall prepare and maintain a list with the details of persons who have the licence to use guns and who are willing to shoot wild boars.
ii. Officers from the Forest Department/ Police/ other uniform service and persons licensed to use firearms may be W.P(C).934/2021 28 empanelled in the list of approved shooters to shoot wild boars.
iii. Once a wild boar is shot, then the shooter shall intimate the same to the concerned Range Officer.
iv. Shooting of breast feeding wild boars should be avoided as much as possible.
v. No wild boars shall be shot inside the forest. vi. Once a wild boar is shot by a person in the empanelled list, then he shall be paid a reward of Rs.1000/ wild boar. vii. The shooter alone shall be held liable if any damages are caused in between, either knowingly or unknowingly to a human life or property.
4. BURIAL OF BODY The dead body of the wild boar shall be examined by the Range Forest Officer and a Mahasser should be prepared and shall be annexed along with the appropriate form and his report. Thereafter, in the presence of the Section Forest Officer, the dead body should be either buried in soil or shall be burnt with the help of Kerosene.
5. REPORT TO HIGHER OFFICIALS The divisional Forest Officer should submit the report to the Chief Wildlife Warden within 24 hours of the incident in the appropriate format.
(By Order of the Governor) DR. ASHA THOMAS IAS ADDL. CHIEF SECRETARY"
W.P(C).934/2021 29
10. Taking into consideration the imperative conditions and the procedure prescribed in Exhibit P1, we are of the clear opinion that the intention of the Government Order is to protect the homogeneous class of farmers and agriculturists and save them from the menace caused by the wild boars by entering into their agricultural fields.
11. Even though wild allegations are made in the writ petition that the meat of the wild boars, so killed by the licensees, are used for food and sale to bar hotels, no believable and trustworthy evidence is produced along with the writ petition in order to substantiate the contentions so raised by the petitioner.
12. On an analysis, we find that there is a clear intention behind the issuance of Exhibit P1 Government Order and it is a policy decision taken by the Government in larger public interest to protect the agricultural activities within the State of Kerala. It is an undisputed fact that the State of Kerala is largely dependent on agricultural activities and plantations conducted by farmers, who are mostly small holders; and if agricultural activities are disrupted W.P(C).934/2021 30 consequent to attack of wild boars, it can cause severe hardship and inconveniences to the public at large and to the Government also, since the Government is duty bound to compensate the farmers for the destruction and loss caused due to the attack of wild boars. Therefore, we are of the view that there is a clear planning and appreciation of the entire relevant aspects by the Government before taking a policy decision, and therefore, the intention of the Government is to protect the interest of the public at large also, bearing in mind the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India to the farmers and agriculturists as a class and to ensure not only their livelihood but also of the workers depending on them.
Viewed in that circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the petitioner is not entitled to get any reliefs as are sought for in the writ petition. We also hold that the petitioner has not established any illegality, discrimination or arbitrariness in the policy decision taken by the Government as per Exhibit P1 Government Order, justifying interference by exercising the power of discretion conferred under Article 226 of the W.P(C).934/2021 31 Constitution of India. Needless to say, the writ petition fails.
Accordingly, it is dismissed.
Sd/-
S. Manikumar, Chief Justice Sd/-
Shaji P. Chaly, Judge sou.
W.P(C).934/2021 32 APPENDIX OF WP(C) 934/2021 PETITIONER EXHIBITS EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O.(RT) NO.111/2020/F&WLD DATED 18/05/2020 ISSUED BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT SANCTIONING THE KILLING OF THE WILD BOAR WITH LICENSED GUNS ALONG WITH ITS TRUE ENGLISH TRANSLATION. EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF ORDER NO.L-1020/2020 DATED 12/10/2020 OF THE DIVISIONAL FOREST OFFICER, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ALONG WITH ITS TRUE ENGLISH TRANSLATION. EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF G.O.(RT) NO.284/2020/F&WLD DATED 18/11/2020 ALONG WITH ITS TRUE ENGLISH TRANSLATION. EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE NEWS REPORTED IN MALAYALA MANORAMA DAILY, KOCHI EDITION IN RESPECT OF THE REJECTION OF VERMIN DATED 25.4.2022 EXHIBIT P4(a) TRUE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF EXHIBIT P4 RESPONDENT'S EXHIBITS ANNEXURE R4(a) TRUE COPY OF THE GO(RT) NO. 265/2011 /F&WLD DATED 17.6.2011 ANNEXURE R4(b) TRUE COPY OF THE GO(RT) NO. 281/2011 /F&WLD DATED 23.6.2011 ANNEXURE R4(c) TRUE COPY OF THE GO(RT) NO. 399/12 FOREST DATED 4.8.2012 ANNEXURE R4(d) TRUE COPY OF THE GO(MS) NO. 31/2013 /FOREST DATED 19.3.2013 ANNEXURE R4(e) TRUE COPY OF THE GO(MS) NO. 95/2014 /FOREST DATED 17.11.2014 W.P(C).934/2021 33 ANNEXURE R4(f) TRUE COPY OF THE GO(MS) NO. 7-2019/FOREST DATED 16.2.2019 ANNEXURE R4(g) TRUE COPY OF SEPARATE GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE AFORESAID GOVERNMENT ORDER ANNEXURE R4(h) TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS NO.WL4- 466/2011 DATED 8.3.2019 ANNEXURE R4(i) TRUE COPY OF GO(RT) NO. 111/2020 F&WLD DATED 18.5.2020 ANNEXURE R4(j) TRUE COPY OF GO(RT) NO. 284/2020 F&WLD DATED 18.11.2020 ANNEXURE R4(k) TRUE COPY OF THE LIST OF AREAS AFFECTED BY WILD BOARS ANNEXURE R4(l) TRUE COPY OF LETTER F NO.8-31/2020-WL