The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered the immediate transfer of two criminal cases involving alleged corruption and illegal construction in the Corbett Tiger Reserve from a Haldwani vigilance court to the special CBI court in Dehradun.
Justice Siddharth Sah issued the order while granting an application filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The single-judge bench noted that because the agency had already concluded its investigation and submitted a charge sheet before the designated Prevention of Corruption Act court in Dehradun, continuing parallel proceedings in Haldwani risked creating procedural inconsistencies and jurisdictional conflicts.
Subheadings Title Case: Resolving Dual Court Proceedings
The directive consolidates two vigilance matters, State versus Brij Bihari Sharma and State versus Kishan Chand, into the Dehradun special court to ensure a fair and swift trial while eliminating technical complications. Both cases originated from an initial inquiry registered in 2022 by the Haldwani vigilance establishment in the Nainital sector.
Subheadings Title Case: Former Forest Officials Named in Charge Sheet
Eight government officials and workers have been named as accused in the CBI charge sheet. Key individuals implicated in the case include Rahul, former director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Ramnagar, Nainital; Kishan Chand, former divisional forest officer of the Kalagarh Tiger Reserve Division in Lansdowne; and Akhilesh Tiwari, former divisional forest officer.
The other individuals charged are Brij Bihari Sharma, former range officer for the Sonanadi and Pakhro ranges; Mathura Singh Mawadi, former deputy ranger for the Pakhro Range; Surendra Singh, former forester for the Pakhro Range; Sandeep Arya, former forest guard for the Sonanadi Range; and Rajesh Rawat, a former daily-wage wireless operator in the Pakhro Range.
Subheadings Title Case: Allegations and Penal Code Violations
The accused face charges relating to financial irregularities, unlawful tree felling, and corruption within the protected tiger sanctuary.
Legal provisions invoked against the defendants include Indian Penal Code sections for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, preparing incorrect official records to shield an offender, forgery of valuable documents, and using forged documents as genuine. Additionally, statutory charges have been framed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the Indian Forest Act of 1927, and the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
