SC raps former forest minister, ex-forest officer

SC asked CBI to file report

Observing that the "public trust doctrine" has been thrown into the waste bin, the Supreme Court pulled up former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat and a former divisional forest officer on Wednesday for allowing illegal construction and felling of trees in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR).

"Since the matter is pending investigation by the CBI, we do not propose to comment any further on the matter. We have also observed that this cannot be done by two persons only. Many other persons must have been involved," the bench, also comprising Justices P K Mishra and Sandeep Mehta, said.

The apex court directed the CBI, which is already probing the case, to file its status report in the matter within three months.

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