‘This is not the feudal era where the king does as he says’, know why SC made such a comment on CM Dhami

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over the appointment of Indian Forest Service officer Rahul as the director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, as the same officer was earlier removed from Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve on charges of illegal tree cutting. The Uttarakhand High Court had taken cognizance of the illegal cutting of trees in Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve and Rajaji National Park about two years ago. The court had then directed the removal of IFS officer Rahul from the post of Director of Corbett Tiger Reserve.

The Supreme Court had also taken cognizance of the illegal felling of trees and construction in Jim Corbett National Park and ordered the formation of a committee to investigate it in March 2024. During the hearing on Wednesday, a bench of Justices BR Gavai, KV Vishwanathan and Prashant Kumar Mishra said, “We are not in the feudal era where whatever the king says should happen. The CM should have given some reasoning behind this decision, we at least expect this.” The apex court asked the lawyer representing the Uttarakhand government to file an affidavit of the Chief Minister in the case.

SC asked- that He is the CM, so can he do anything?

Senior advocate and amicus curiae K Parmeshwar told the bench that a chargesheet has already been filed against the concerned IAS officer. He said, ‘No recommendation was made by the Civil Services Board for posting of IFS officer Rahul in Rajaji National Park, this is a political posting.’ On this, Justice Gavai said, ‘Is there any principle of living up to the trust of the people in this country or not? People sitting on constitutional posts cannot do whatever they want. When the public is not in support, he should not have been posted there. Despite this, he is the CM, so can he do anything?’

The court’s remarks came when senior advocate ANS Nadkarni, representing the Uttarakhand government, defended the chief minister’s decision, saying the CM had the discretion to make such appointments. The apex court was initially inclined to ask the CM to file an affidavit in its order, but the lawyer said the Uttarakhand government would give its own clarification during the next hearing. The bench of Justices BR Gavai, KV Vishwanathan and Prashant Kumar Mishra was considering the report of the Central Empowered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court to monitor forest-related matters.