Segur Plateau Elephant Corridor: Private Resort Owners Move Madras High Court Against Order Of SC Appointed Committee

When the matter was taken up by the bench of Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice PB Balaji, the court wondered on whether the High Court could hear the challenge to the findings of a committee appointed by the Supreme Court.

Senior Advocate Salman Kurshid urged the court to grant interim protection. Additional Advocate General J Ravindran assured the court that the State would not take any action for 2 weeks. Recording this submission, the court has adjourned the matter by 2 weeks.

In 2020, the Apex Court upheld the validity of a notification issued by the Tamil Nadu government declaring the Elephant Corridor in Segur Plateau. The court had directed the resort owners and other private landowners to vacate and hand over the vacant possession of the lands falling within the notified elephant corridor.

The resort owners have challenged the order passed by the Supreme Court-appointed committee alleging that the committee has exceeded its jurisdiction by declaring the title of the resort owners as void under the Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forest Act 1949. The committee had declared that since the vendors of the resort owners had not taken prior permission from the committee constituted under the land to sell or alienate the land declared as private forests, the sale was null and void.

The petitioners pointed out that the jurisdiction of the committee, as per the order of the Supreme Court was limited to adjudication of grievances against actions taken by the Nilgiris District Collector pursuant to the Government Order and not to enforce the Act or notification under it.

It was submitted that the committee, which was constituted to hear individual grievances against action of the District Collector as outlined in the twin action report had instead ventured to prosecute the resort owners in its own right under a different notification whose validity is under challenge.

The owners thus argued that the findings of the committee were not only arbitrary but also ultra vires the terms of reference issued by the Apex Court. Thus, the resort owners sought an interim stay on the operation of the committee order and to quash the order.

Case Title: Jungle Retreat v The Honourable Segur Plateau Elephant Corridor Inquiry Committee and others

Case No: WP 23499 of 2024