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Illegal sand mining inside a protected wildlife sanctuary – Directions issued

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Evaluating the abysmal compliance, institutional apathy, and enforcement failure by the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh regarding rampant illegal sand mining inside a protected wildlife sanctuary, the proliferation of unregistered/unidentified vehicles, massive vacancies in frontline forest staff, and critical threats to public infrastructure.

Directions issued under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court fast-tracked technology setups, mandated a crackdown on mining mafias and their unregistered vehicles, ordered immediate filling of vacancies, directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to protect vulnerable bridges, and summoned further accountability from central and state ministries.

1. Introduction and Factual Background

This suo motu environmental litigation addresses rampant illegal sand mining inside the ecologically fragile National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, which spans the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. The continuous mining has severely disrupted local river morphology, fragmented wildlife habitats, and endangered protected aquatic fauna such as gharials, dolphins, and freshwater turtles.

Compounding the crisis, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) exposed a severe breakdown of regulatory oversight on the ground:

  • Thousands of unregistered and unidentified commercial vehicles and heavy earthmoving machines operate completely unchecked inside protected forest limits to transport stolen river sand.
  • Indiscriminate excavation has crept dangerously close to and underneath the supporting structures and pillars of the inter-state bridge on National Highway-44 (near the Morena-Dholpur border), directly threatening its structural stability and public safety.

2. State-Wise Compliance Assessment

The Supreme Court analyzed the action reports filed by the three neighboring states and structural feedback from the NHAI:

  • State of Rajasthan: The Court expressed serious displeasure with Rajasthan’s initial “abysmal state of compliance” and administrative paralysis. Following strict coercion and orders requiring the personal presence of top secretaries, the state finally cleared ₹65.47 crores for IT-enabled surveillance, deployed Armed Constabulary battalions at 40 vulnerable locations, established 24 permanent camps, and set up District Level Task Forces. However, the state’s proposed timeline of 18 to 36 months to operationalize these cameras and recruit personnel was rejected by the Court as far too slow for an ongoing ecological emergency.
  • State of Uttar Pradesh: UP reported coordinated enforcement actions resulting in multiple challans against vehicles running without High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) and detailed the filing of scores of criminal chargesheets under the Mining Act in the Agra region.
  • State of Madhya Pradesh: MP reported significant financial penalties recovered from errant vehicles in Morena and proposed eight static check-posts. However, the Court observed that MP totally failed to address the root issue, noting that over 250 unregistered vehicles were simply let go with nominal ₹5,000 fines, treating penal consequences merely as insignificant operational costs for organized mining networks.
  • National Highways Authority of India (NHAI): The NHAI placed on record a joint technical inspection report from April 2025 stating that the NH-44 Chambal bridge’s scour levels were currently within safe design limits. The NHAI claimed its role was strictly restricted to highway maintenance within the Right of Way, while actual mining enforcement lay under state jurisdiction. The Court rejected this passive hand-washing, ruling that the NHAI has a statutory obligation to proactively safeguard public infrastructure from external structural threats.

3. Critical Systemic Failures Identified by the Court

  • Frontline Vacancies: The Court highlighted an alarming, institutional deficiency: massive vacancies in critical, field-level positions like Forest Guards. In Rajasthan, no recruitment drive for Forest Guards had occurred for four years, drastically crippling physical patrolling and enforcement capabilities.
  • Diminishing Environmental Flows (E-Flows): Relying on scientific assessments by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the CEC pointed out that summer and lean-season water flows in the Chambal River have hit critically low levels over the past three decades due to upstream dams and water regulation projects, leading to habitat fragmentation for endangered species.

4. Operative Directions Issued under Article 142

To bypass administrative lethrage and ensure absolute justice, the Supreme Court issued a comprehensive set of mandatory directives:

  • Staff Augmentation: The Chief Secretaries of MP, Rajasthan, and UP must immediately expedite and complete the recruitment process to fill all vacant posts for Forest Guards and frontline enforcement staff within one year.
  • Surveillance Deployment: Proposed IT-enabled infrastructure, night-vision high-resolution CCTV systems, and integrated control command rooms across vulnerable routes must be fast-tracked and fully operationalized within six months.
  • Vehicle Crackdown & Confiscation: Authorities must launch a aggressive crackdown against vehicles operating without registration, with fake plates, or missing number plates. Such machinery must be immediately intercepted, seized, and subjected to statutory confiscation proceedings rather than being released on petty fines.
  • Targeting the Kingpins: Criminal prosecutions and financial investigations must target not just hired drivers, but the entire backing ecosystem—including vehicle owners, financiers, operators, and contractors running the organized mining networks.
  • Sovereign Protection for Forest Guards: Given frequent violent attacks by mining mafias, the three states must evaluate and file status reports on implementing notifications under Section 218(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 197 CrPC) to provide official legal protection for frontline guards taking bona fide action.
  • NHAI Infrastructure Mandates: The NHAI must install high-mast, high-resolution night-vision CCTV systems covering 1 km upstream and 500 meters downstream of the NH-44 bridge and route real-time live feeds continuously to the state police and forest control rooms. Furthermore, the NHAI must establish tamper-proof fencing and protective mesh on the bridge to completely halt commuters from throwing trash and polluting the sanctuary’s riverine ecosystem.
  • Environmental Flow Assessment: The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Central Water Commission (CWC), and state irrigation departments must submit exhaustive action plans regarding minimum environmental flows. No new project damaging ecological flows shall be allowed within the sanctuary, except essential drinking water pipelines.
  • Local Welfare and Monitoring: States must formulate special employment and skill schemes for local youth in sensitive zones to reduce economic dependence on the mining mafia, while involving communities directly in eco-tourism and surveillance.
  • High-Level Periodic Review: The Chief Secretaries of all three states must personally review enforcement progress at least once every two months and present routine status reports directly to the apex court.

5. Interlocutory Applications

  • A. No. 143798 of 2026 (Conservation Action Trust): Disposed of with liberty granted to the NGO to continuously coordinate and feed critical ground insights to the Amicus Curiae.
  • A. No. 143904 of 2026 (M.P. Forest Employees Association): The Court issued formal notices to MP, Rajasthan, and UP, ordering them to submit clear replies defining uniform welfare policies, insurance coverage, ex-gratia distribution, and compassionate appointments for families of frontline forest personnel killed or injured in the line of duty.

The matter stands listed for subsequent consideration on July 22, 2026.

The prompt has a definitive answer based entirely on the provided case files; standard scannable completion rules apply, concluding the response.

2026 INSC 549

“In Re: Illegal Sand Mining In The National Chambal Sanctuary And Threat To Endangered Aquatic Wildlife” (D.O.J. 26.05.2026)

2026 INSC 549 click here to view full text of judgment

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Admissibility of Deceased Witness Testimony Against Absconding Accused

July 18, 2026 No Comments

Supreme Court allowed the appeals filed by the State of West Bengal, ruling that the deposition of a deceased witness recorded in an earlier trial is admissible in a subsequent trial against an absconding accused, provided the requirements of Section 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) are met. The Court clarified that the provision serves to preserve evidence when an accused deliberately absconds, preventing them from benefiting from the unavailability of material witnesses due to the passage of time. The Court set aside the High Court’s order, which had denied the admission of the victim’s testimony, confirming that the statutory preconditions—the accused absconding and no immediate prospect of arrest—were satisfied at the time the witness deposed.

  • Background: In a 2012 gang-rape case, the respondent and another accused were absconding while three others were tried and convicted. The victim, a key witness, testified in the first trial but passed away in 2015. After the respondent was arrested in 2016, the prosecution sought to admit the victim’s earlier deposition as evidence under Section 33 of the Indian Evidence Act read with Section 299 of the CrPC.
  • High Court Order: The High Court of Calcutta had rejected the application, observing that the prosecution had a duty to obtain a specific direction from the Trial Court to record evidence against the absconder during the first trial, and thus the earlier deposition could not be used against the respondent.
  • Interpretation of Section 299 CrPC: The Supreme Court held that Section 299 CrPC acts as an exception to the general rule requiring a witness to be examined in the presence of the accused. It does not mandate a formal, prior order from a Magistrate to record that the accused is absconding; rather, what is relevant is whether the conditions—that the accused is absconding and there is no immediate prospect of arrest—were established at the time the evidence was recorded.
  • Preventing Misuse of Process: The Court reasoned that taking a restrictive view of Section 299 would jeopardize the criminal justice system by incentivizing accused persons to wilfully abscond and await the death or unavailability of material witnesses.
  • Application to Facts: The Court noted that the respondent was a declared absconder when the victim’s testimony was recorded (2013), and he remained at large until his arrest in 2016. As the two essential conditions of Section 299(1) were met, the deceased victim’s evidence is admissible in the trial against the respondent.

Legislative Continuity: The Court noted that the legislature has maintained this principle in Section 335 of the recently enacted Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, reinforcing the intent to ensure evidence is preserved against those who evade trial.

2026 INSC 718

The State of West Bengal v. Kader Khan – (D.O.J. 17.07.2026)

2026 INSC 718 click here to view full text of judgment

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Insolvency and Bankruptcy: Finality of Resolution Plans and Extinguishment of Sub-judice Claims

July 18, 2026 No Comments

Supreme Court allowed the appeals filed by the Successful Resolution Applicant (Appellant-SRA), ruling that upon the approval of a Resolution Plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), all claims—including those pending adjudication (sub-judice)—that are not specifically provided for in the plan stand extinguished. The Court held that the “clean slate” doctrine is fundamental to the IBC, preventing unresolved or contingent claims from resurfacing and undermining the revival of the corporate debtor. Consequently, the Court set aside the High Court orders and dismissed the civil suit and arbitration proceedings initiated by operational creditors, affirming that they are bound by the terms of the approved Resolution Plan.

  • Background: The Appellant-SRA challenged Bombay High Court orders that allowed a civil recovery suit and arbitration proceedings to continue against the corporate debtor (Bhushan Steel Limited) despite the approval of its Resolution Plan. The respondents, operational creditors, sought to pursue claims that were pending at the time of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
  • Treatment of Claims: During the CIRP, the Resolution Professional admitted the respondents’ disputed claims at a notional value of Rupee One (1) each. The approved Resolution Plan stipulated that because the liquidation value was NIL, no amounts were due to operational creditors; however, a settlement fund was provided for those with admitted claims.
  • The “Clean Slate” Doctrine: The Court emphasized that a successful resolution applicant must start on a “clean slate,” free from “hydra-headed” surprise claims. Once a Resolution Plan is approved under Section 31(1) of the IBC, it becomes binding on all stakeholders, and claims not incorporated therein are deemed extinguished, withdrawn, or abated.
  • Finality of the Plan: The Court noted that the Final List of Creditors attained finality, and the respondents could not seek to reopen or question the commercial wisdom of the Committee of Creditors after the plan’s approval. The Court found no merit in the allegations of fraud, noting that no proceedings had been initiated under Rule 11 of the NCLT Rules to challenge the plan’s integrity.
  • No Express Carve-out: Upon a harmonious reading of the Resolution Plan, the Court concluded there was no express “carve-out” protecting sub-judice claims from extinguishment. The plan explicitly mandated that all legal proceedings relating to the period prior to the effective date stand extinguished, except to the extent of the specific settlement amount provided.
  • Observation on MSMEs: In an “Afterword,” the Court observed that the current insolvency framework does not adequately account for the position of small operational creditors and MSMEs, who are often placed at the bottom of the repayment waterfall. The Court suggested that the Legislature and Law Commission examine this to ensure a more balanced repayment mechanism.
  • Outcome: The Court allowed the appeals, set aside the contrary High Court orders, and dismissed the pending civil suit and arbitration proceedings, enforcing the finality of the Resolution Plan.

2026 INSC 717

M/S Tata Steel Ltd. v. Varsha & Anr. (D.O.J. 17.07.2026)

2026 INSC 717 click here to view full text of judgment

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Excluding Nominated Members from Local Authority Elections

July 18, 2026 No Comments

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court of Karnataka’s decision to exclude nominated members of Town Panchayats from participating in Legislative Council elections for Local Authorities’ Constituencies. The Court ruled that under the constitutional framework established by the 74th Amendment (Part IX-A), nominated members, who serve only in an advisory capacity, lack the democratic mandate of elected representatives. Consequently, their inclusion in the electoral roll was declared unconstitutional, and the Court affirmed the direction to conduct a recount of votes after segregating the invalid votes cast by these nominated members.

  • Background: The election to the Karnataka Legislative Council (Chikkamagaluru Local Authorities Constituency) was challenged because 12 nominated members from four Town Panchayats were included in the electoral roll and participated in the voting. The appellant, who won by a narrow margin of 6 votes, contended that the electoral roll’s finality should be respected.
  • Constitutional Interpretation: The Court held that while Article 171(3)(a) mentions “members” of local authorities, this must be interpreted through the lens of the 74th Constitutional Amendment. Article 243-R establishes that while nominated members may be appointed for their expertise, they are expressly barred from voting in municipal meetings, underscoring their advisory rather than representative role.
  • Democratic Representation: The Supreme Court emphasized that allowing nominated members to vote in Legislative Council elections would undermine the democratic nature of the electoral process, as they are not democratically elected. The Court affirmed that “members” in the context of electoral colleges refers to democratically elected representatives.
  • Finality of Electoral Rolls: While acknowledging the principle that electoral rolls typically attain finality, the Court distinguished this case by noting that the inclusion of the nominated members was void ab initio and unconstitutional. Therefore, the finality of the roll could not be used to validate an illegality that strikes at the core of the electoral college’s composition.
  • Secrecy of the Ballot: The Court rejected the argument that segregating these votes would violate the secrecy of the ballot. It maintained that the higher constitutional goal of preserving free and fair elections and ensuring the purity of the electoral process outweighs the requirement for absolute secrecy in this specific context.
  • Outcome: The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals and affirmed the High Court’s orders. The Court directed the authorities to proceed with the consequential actions based on the recount results already obtained, ensuring that the election outcome reflects only the valid votes cast by elected representatives.

2026 INSC 716

Pranesh M.K. v. Shanthegowda & Ors. – (D.O.J. 16.07.2026)

2026 INSC 716 click here to view full text of judgment

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Railway: Establishing Liability in Untoward Railway Incidents

July 18, 2026 No Comments

The Supreme Court set aside the concurrent dismissal of a compensation claim by the Railway Claims Tribunal and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. The Court held that when a passenger dies in an “untoward incident” (falling from a running train), the absence of a recovered ticket does not automatically negate the status of a bona fide passenger. Emphasizing the “no-fault liability” principle under Section 124A of the Railways Act, 1989, the Court ruled that once the claimant establishes the foundational facts through an affidavit, the burden shifts to the Railways. Technical lapses and the inability to recover personal belongings should not defeat the humanitarian and welfare objectives of the legislation.

  • Background: The appellant filed a claim for compensation following the death of her husband, who fell from a running train while traveling from Raipur to Ahmedabad. The Railway Claims Tribunal and the High Court previously rejected the claim, citing a lack of proof regarding the deceased being a bona fide passenger (specifically due to the missing ticket).
  • Legal Principle (No-Fault Liability): The Court reiterated that Section 124A of the 1989 Act is a beneficial, “no-fault” provision. It is designed to provide expeditious relief to victims of untoward incidents without requiring proof of negligence by the Railway Administration.
  • Burden of Proof: Relying on Union of India v. Rina Devi and Doli Rani Saha v. Union of India, the Court clarified that:
    • The mere absence of a ticket does not disprove that a person was a bona fide
    • The initial burden is on the claimant, which is sufficiently discharged by filing an affidavit stating the facts.
    • Once this is done, the burden shifts to the Railways to disprove the claim based on attending circumstances.
  • Operational Concerns: The Court highlighted the critical issue of chronic overcrowding in Indian Railways. It noted that while the Railway Manuals contain detailed safety and ticketing protocols, the execution often fails. The Court suggested that Railways should increase manpower to better manage safety and ticketing, which could simultaneously reduce such tragedies and provide employment.
  • Constitutional Perspective: The Court observed that using terms like “second class passenger” is outdated and potentially offensive to the spirit of the Constitution of India; it suggested that class designations should refer to the “coach” rather than the “passenger.”

Decision: The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the lower court judgments. It ordered the Railways to pay compensation of ₹8,00,000 to the appellant within four weeks, failing which the amount would attract interest at 8% from the date of the original claim filing.

2026 INSC 715

Lata v. Union of India & Anr. – (D.O.J. 17.07.2026)

2026 INSC 715 click here to view full text of judgment

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