Gauhati High Court Seeks ATR On Alleged Illegal Encroachments In Tipam Hills

The suo motu PIL was registered by the court in 2018 on the basis of a letter written by Late Nilay Dutta, Senior Advocate highlighting a report of the Assamese newspaper ‘Niyomiya Barta’ pertaining to the illegal mining as well as the incidents of encroachment of the Tipam hill area.

Earlier, the court had sought reports from the concerned authorities on the said allegations. The jurisdictional Divisional Forest Officer vide reports dated December 17, 2022 and February 20, 2023 stated that the incidents of illegal mining has been stopped due to the intervention of the departmental authorities.

The division bench of The Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Suman Shyam noted:

“What is, however, not clear from the materials on record is as to whether, any action has been taken by the District Administration/Revenue Authorities pertaining to the allegation of illegal encroachment of Tipam hill.”

Accordingly, the court directed the revenue authorities of the district to submit a report before the court on the allegation of encroachment of Tipam hill within 6 weeks.

Case Title: XXXX XXXX v. In Re- The State of Assam & 7 Ors.

Coram: The Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Suman Shyam

ClickHere to Read/Download The Order