'Intransigence': Allahabad High Court Summons Top Forest & Horticulture Officials, Imposes ₹40K Costs For Failure To Geo-Tag Trees

Taking a grim view of the 'apathy' and 'intransigence' displayed by State officials in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed in 2013, the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) on Monday summoned top Government officials, including the Additional Chief Secretary (Forest) and the Principal Secretary (Horticulture), to appear in person.A bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary also expressed strong disapproval of the State's failure to file the required affidavits or comply with earlier HC directions regarding the scientific geo-tagging of trees in the mango belt.In its 4-page order, the HC observed that despite a stringent order passed on November 12, 2025, the State counsel had no instructions on whether the previously imposed cost had been deposited, nor had any affidavit been filed in that regard."This is the apathy shown by the State authorities after such a stringent order being passed on 12.11.2025...No other option is left with us but to summon all the State authorities who are impleaded herein, as, it appears that, in such an important matter involving public interest, they are not only not co-operating but their conduct displays certain intransigence which needs to be addressed," the Bench remarked.For context, the PIL plea in question was filed by Jayant Singh Tomar regarding the adoption of scientific methodology for geo-tagging trees in the mango belt.The Court had earlier asked the State whether it could adopt a methodology similar to that directed by the Bombay High Court in the 2013 judgment of Deepak Balkrishna Vahikar & Another v. The State of Maharashtra and Others.However, the Bench noted that none of the affidavits filed by the State authorities after the January 2014 order addressed this specific query regarding geo-tagging.In view of this, the bench has now directed the following officers to appear in person on January 13, 2026, at 10:15 AM:The Additional Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary, Forest, Government of U.P.The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), U.P.The Principal Secretary of Horticulture and Food Processing, Government of U.P.The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Lucknow.The Court imposed a further cost of Rs. 25,000, in addition to the Rs. 15,000 costs imposed earlier on November 12, 2025. The Bench directed that the State authorities must pay the entire cost before the next date of hearing.The Senior Registrar of the Court shall remit the amount to Drishti Samajik Sansthan, a society operating a juvenile home for girls and boys in Lucknow.During the proceedings, the Additional Chief Standing Counsel Isha Mittal informed the Court, based on telephonic instructions from the CEO of the State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, that geo-tagging details fall within the purview of the Department of Horticulture and that such tagging has been taking place since 2018.However, the court was not satisfied with this submission, as it questioned why, if this was the case, written instructions or an affidavit were not provided earlier to clarify the factual matter.Senior Advocate Gaurav Mehrotra, appearing for the petitioner, pointed out that the issue discussed in the Court's 2014 order pertained not only to geo-tagging but also to the felling of trees, which is directly within the purview of the Forest Department. The matter is listed for the next hearing on January 13, 2026.

'Intransigence': Allahabad High Court Summons Top Forest & Horticulture Officials, Imposes ₹40K Costs For Failure To Geo-Tag Trees

Sparsh Upadhyay

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