The Supreme Court in the case Anupam Tripathi And Anr. v. UoI And Ors observed and has asked the Centre for ascertaining the number of deaths of tigers in the country in the recent past.
The bench headed by Justice KM Joseph in the case observed and has ordered while hearing a petition aiming to relocate human settlements from reserve forests to save the tiger population in the country, thus, the Centre to ascertain the reported deaths of tigers in India.
The said direction was passed by the bench after the Justice BV Nagarathna, who also being the part of the Bench, stated that she had come across a newspaper which recently report of many tiger deaths.
The bench headed by Justice Nagarathna in the case queried that how can the tiger population rise then?
Therefore, India has already recorded nearly two months into 2023 and it has already recorded 30 tiger deaths, the Indian Express and several other media portals had reported last week.
Therefore, this prompted the same bench for passing an order through the counsel appearing for the Centre informed that Additional Solicitor General Aiswarya Bhati was busy in another court. It has also been observed by the bench while posting the matter in March.
It has been informed by the Centre to the Supreme Court during the previous hearing in January on that there are 2967 tigers spread in 53 tiger reserves overall in the country as per a 2018 census. The said number even constitutes 70% of the world tiger population and the said figures also continue for growing.
The counsel, Advocate Anupam Tripathi appearing before the court submitted that 41 tigers were being killed as per the data which is being provided by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 7 months i.e., in the year 2015 from January to August 9.
It has also been stated in the plea that there were 74 tiger deaths reported in the year 2016, the petitioner in the plea stated that these wild cats were killed by the locals who are residing near the reserve forests either due to man-animal conflict or poaching.
It has also been alleged before the court that the tigers are being indiscriminately, barbarically and monstrously they were being killed either by poisoning by the locals or by the authorities, wherein shooting by the Forest Guards, the poaching etc. Thus, the tigers were also being killed each day in the cruelest fashion.