The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the alleged poisoning deaths of a tigress and her four cubs in Karnataka’s Male Mahadeshwara (MM) Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, and sought explanations from both the state government and the Centre over the incident and systemic shortcomings in forest management.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, along with Justices K. Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi, issued notices to the Karnataka government and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) after taking note of a report by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC). The CEC, assisted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), described the poisoning incident as the worst single tiger mortality event in recent memory.
The CEC’s findings confirmed that the tigress and her four cubs, whose carcasses were discovered on June 26, were deliberately poisoned—pesticides had been sprayed on a cattle carcass to kill the animals in retaliation for livestock losses. The CEC also highlighted the dire shortage of forest ground staff in MM Hills: 80% of Forest Watcher posts and 51% of Forester posts remain vacant.
“This is alarming. A permanent solution has to be found by taking all states on board. There is such a huge vacancy,” remarked Chief Justice Gavai during the hearing.
The court directed the Karnataka government to file an affidavit explaining the persisting 80% staff vacancy in the sanctuary, which forms a key part of a 3,000 sq km contiguous tiger habitat connecting BRT, Cauvery, and Sathyamangalam tiger reserves.
Amicus curiae K. Parmeshwar, presenting the CEC’s report, said that such retaliatory poisonings had occurred earlier in nearby areas like Bandipur Tiger Reserve in 2019–20, but this was the first such instance in MM Hills. He also flagged systemic salary delays and outsourcing of forest jobs to contractors, leading to demoralised ground personnel. Many watchers, the report said, were unpaid for months and had taken high-interest loans to support their families, yet continued patrolling duties.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and assured the court of appropriate action.
The CEC urged the court to ensure the provision of adequate resources, equipment, and manpower for tackling man-animal conflict. It also recommended integration of conflict resolution strategies into gram panchayat and district development plans, and setting up timely ex gratia and livestock compensation schemes to dissuade villagers from retaliatory actions.
So far, three persons have been arrested in connection with the poisoning. The court was also informed that 80 tiger deaths have been reported in Karnataka over the past five years, some due to unnatural causes.
The matter will be heard next after Karnataka and MoEFCC file their responses.
