The Uttarakhand High Court has sought replies from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the state government over the decision to grant prosecution sanction against former Director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), Rahul, in a case related to illegal tree felling and construction within the reserve forest area. The matter, pertaining to the Pakhro Range of CTR, is being monitored by the Supreme Court of India.
The order was issued by a single bench of Justice Ashish Naithani during a hearing on October 11. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for October 28.
Justice Naithani’s directive came in response to a petition filed by Rahul, who sought the quashing of the prosecution sanction granted against him. In his plea, the former director stated that the CBI had completed its investigation and filed charge sheets against all those found involved in the illegal activities. He further pointed out that the Uttarakhand government, on September 4, 2025, had sanctioned prosecution against several officers, but not against him.
According to the petition, despite not granting sanction earlier, the state government permitted prosecution against him a week later, which Rahul termed as contrary to the facts and the law. He also alleged that the government often takes such actions based on newspaper reports, even when the investigations are still underway.
Rahul urged the court to declare the prosecution sanction against him illegal. Hearing the plea, Justice Naithani sought detailed responses from both the CBI and the state government and fixed the next hearing for October 28.
Notably, Rahul was charge-sheeted by the CBI along with two other Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers. However, his prosecution was earlier withheld by the Uttarakhand government, prompting the Supreme Court to intervene.
During a hearing on September 8, the apex court had pulled up the state government for not granting sanction to prosecute Rahul and cautioned it against any deliberate attempt to protect him. The court had directed the government to rectify the issue before the next hearing on September 17.
Subsequently, the Dhami government granted prosecution sanction against the former Corbett director a day before the scheduled Supreme Court hearing.