The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday stayed a State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) proceedings initiated against two forest officials.
A Division Bench of Justices T. Raja and Krishnan Ramasamy granted an interim injunction against the proceedings and directed notice to SHRC. The case has been adjourned for further hearing by two weeks. The petitioners, R. Kanchana and A.Venkatesh, both former forest officials, complained that a false allegation was levelled against them while they were working at Kalakkad and Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in Tirunelveli district.
The allegation was that they did not permit devotees to park vehicles and pitching tents on the Sorimuthu Ayyanar Temple premises located within the tiger reserve. The SHRC had entertained the complaint, which was based on flimsy reasons in 2015. Moreover the summons in the case was served only in 2017, two years after the complaint was filed.
Calling the summons as unwarranted, the petitioners said that since the KMTR was a critical tiger habitat, they were duty-bound to take good care of it. Allowing private vehicles and pitching tents within the reserve forest would disturb the quiet habitat. With the temple located in the core of the reserve forest and in order to avoid human-animal conflict, the tourist influx should be regulated, they said.
The petitioners sought a direction to stay the proceedings initiated against them by SHRC and also dispense with their personal appearance before it.