The Supreme Court of India has issued a directive to the Tamil Nadu government, mandating the development and implementation of a comprehensive, time-bound plan to remove encroachments from the Agasthyamalai ecological landscape. This region, known for its rich biodiversity, encompasses protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries, and tiger reserves spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The case, A John Kennedy v. State of Tamil Nadu, was decided by a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on May 29.
The Court’s decision also called for disciplinary and legal actions against 118 government employees, both serving and retired, identified as encroachers. Furthermore, the State has been advised to consider recovering environmental restitution and restoration charges from these individuals.
This ruling follows a report from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which highlighted widespread encroachment and insufficient responses to these issues across the landscape. The CEC’s findings were stark: 4,601 encroachers occupied over 5,000 hectares in the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR) alone, with another 553 identified in the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary. Alarmingly, encroachers included government employees, and some government facilities continued to operate in these encroached areas.
The Court noted the persistence and proliferation of encroachments within the Agasthyamalai landscape, despite specific directives from the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court, along with expert recommendations from the CEC. The Tamil Nadu government cited resistance from encroachers, ongoing litigation, and logistical challenges as hindrances to eviction efforts. However, the Bench dismissed these as “hollow promises” and emphasized that environmental protection must not be delayed indefinitely.
To address these issues, the Court issued several directives aimed at restoring the ecologically sensitive landscape. It called for a moratorium on welfare schemes, public utilities, transport facilities, electricity supply, and infrastructure support in encroached forest areas, to prevent the legitimization of illegal occupation. Additionally, it barred the approval of new non-forestry activities in the Agasthyamalai region until encroachments are removed and illegal structures are dealt with legally.
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The Court also ordered the dismantling of illegal resorts, commercial establishments, and tourism infrastructure in the Megamalai area and other forest lands, with an immediate disconnection of electricity to these encroachments under CEC supervision. Furthermore, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) has been tasked with mapping encroachments and creating geo-referenced, digitized boundaries of key reserves within six months, with findings to be submitted to the CEC and other relevant authorities.
The Supreme Court made it clear that failure by the State government to implement these directions could result in the CEC recommending paramilitary force deployment to assist in removing encroachments. To ensure ongoing oversight, the State must submit monthly compliance reports to the CEC. The CEC is also expected to conduct ground verification and file quarterly status reports to the Supreme Court until full compliance is achieved, with the next report due by August 28, 2026. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on September 1, 2026.
For this case, Senior Advocate K Parmeshwar served as Amicus Curiae, while Advocate General Vijay Narayan represented the Tamil Nadu government.
