Lion Deaths: Gujarat High Court Calls For High-Level Enquiry Into Working Of Forest And Railway Depts, Slams Their "Face Saving" Probe

The Gujarat High Court has expressed strong displeasure at the "face saving" enquiry conducted by the Railways and Forest Department into the unnatural deaths of three Asiatic lions on railway tracks in Amreli district.

“We are initiating a high level enquiry into the working of railways and the forest department,” Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal orally remarked.

She pointed that the authorities failed to take preventive measures after the first mishap and they sprung into action only after the Court issued directions in March. Even thereafter, the bench also comprising Justice Aniruddha P Mayee pointed, enquiry into the cause of incident was not made properly.

“This is how enquiry is conducted? These are all just face savings. We were not talking about this enquiry. We were not talking about sacking your officers only. That was a departmental enquiry. We are not concerned with your departmental enquiry. We were talking about the enquiry where you made any effort to find the cause of action and then you had a meeting with the railway officials to take any corrective measures…This is only sketchy enquiry...Other than this disciplinary enquiry a higher level enquiry ought to be conducted - where you collect the data from everyone and then see the reason for the incident and then take the corrective measure. This is not done.”

The bench has now directed the Secretaries of both the Ministries to constitute a high level committee to conduct an enquiry as to the cause of the 3 accidents which occurred between 9th - 21st January 2024 and fixed responsibility on the officials.

The development comes in a PIL filed in 2016 by Animal rights activist Biren Pandya, demanding CID probe into the electrocution-death of a pregnant lioness in 2016.

The High Court had established a 10-member committee to address the above issue. However, when the incidents of lion deaths on railway tracks came to light, the Court "searched for this petition" and expressed readiness to hold Forest and Railway officials accountable for their silence.

The matter is now listed on 26 June for further hearing.

Case Title- Suo Motu v. Union of India & Ors.