IN RE: Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary; 2025 INSC 1311 -Wildlife Protection Act
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972- Sections 18, 26A-the statute itself makes a distinction between any area other than an area comprised within any reserve forest or the territorial waters and any area within any reserve forest or any part of the territorial waters- [Context: SC directed the State Government to notify the area comprising of 126 compartments as notified in 1968 notification, excluding six compartments i.e., compartment numbers KP-2, KP-10, KP-11, KP-12, KP-13 and KP-14, as a wildlife sanctuary within a period of three months from the date of this judgment.]
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972- Section 24(2)(c) -Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 - Section 3,4 - These provisions amply protect the rights of the tribals and forest dwellers even after declaration of the said area as a wildlife sanctuary - The bogey that on declaration of wildlife sanctuary, the habitations and rights of the tribals and traditional forest dwellers will be lost and vital public infrastructures like educational institutions, roads, etc., will have to be demolished is only a figment of imagination of the State. Rather than taking such a stand before this court, we are of the considered view that the State should have educated the tribals/forest dwellers residing in the said areas about the rights available to them under the FRA as well as the WPA. (Para 93-94) [Context: SC directed State of Jharkhand to give wide publicity to the fact that by this judgment, neither the individual rights nor the community rights of the tribals and the forest dwellers in the said area would be adversely affected. ]
Constitution of India - Article 48A, 51A - State is required to recognize and protect areas of ecological significance, and particularly to conserve and protect wildlife and its inhabitants. The State has a positive obligation and a mandate to provide statutory protection to forests and wildlife and declare ecologically significant areas to be statutorily protected. (Para 65-67)
Case Info
Case Details
- Case name: IN RE: Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary; in Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of 1995 (In Re: T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad).
- Neutral citation: 2025 INSC 1311.
- Coram: B.R. Gavai, CJI and K. Vinod Chandran, J.
- Judgment date: November 13, 2025, New Delhi.
Caselaws and Citations Referenced
- Centre for Environmental Law, WWF-India v. Union of India and Others, 2013. (National Wildlife Action Plan recognized with statutory flavour).
- Orissa Mining Corporation Ltd. v. Ministry of Environment and Forests and others, 2013; quoted para 55 on customary rights under FRA.
- Vellore Citizens’ Welfare Forum v. Union of India and Others, 1996. (Sustainable development).
- Intellectuals Forum, Tirupathi v. State of A.P. and Others, 2006. (Environmental balance).
- State of Himachal Pradesh and Others v. Yogendera Mohan Sengupta and Another, 2024. (Environment-development balance).
- T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India and Others (In Re: Gaurav Kumar Bansal), 2025. (Protected area mining buffer; Pan-India 1 km rule referenced).
- Prior order in Godavarman proceedings dated 26 April 2023 (2023 SCC OnLine SC 504) modifying mining restrictions to bar mining within parks/sanctuaries and within 1 km from their boundaries.
Statutes and Laws Referred
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Sections 18, 19–24 (esp. 24(2)(c)), and 26A.
- Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
- Indian Forest Act, 1927.
- Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA): Sections 3 and 4(1); Section 3(2) facilities list.
- Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (referenced via WPA Section 24(2)(b)).
- Constitutional provisions: Article 48A and Article 51A(g).
- Policies/Plans: National Forest Policy, 1988; National Wildlife Action Plan, 2017–31.
- Reports/Plans: Justice M.B. Shah Commission Report (2013); ICFRE Carrying Capacity Study (2016); MoEF&CC Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM), 8 June 2018; WII Report, 30 May 2025.
#SupremeCourt directs Jharkhand Govt. to declare areas in Saranda forest area as Wildlife Sanctuary ! https://t.co/DNNVRidpEY pic.twitter.com/BNOiZML6UK
— CiteCase 🇮🇳 (@CiteCase) November 13, 2025
#SupremeCourt says the rights of the tribals and forest dwellers have statutory protection even after declaration of an area as a wildlife sanctuary ! https://t.co/DNNVRidpEY pic.twitter.com/LBRbXVzO1j
— CiteCase 🇮🇳 (@CiteCase) November 13, 2025