Overview
- Justice J. Sreenivasa Rao held that forest officials are not police officers under the Criminal Procedure Code and cannot investigate or file charges for IPC offences.
- The court set aside proceedings under IPC Sections 351, 332 and 333 against six accused linked to a March 2022 incident in the Amrabad Tiger Reserve.
- Proceedings under Sections 27 and 56 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act were allowed to continue under the proper wildlife enforcement framework.
- The order clarifies that forest officials must approach the police for any alleged IPC violations rather than conducting mixed investigations.
- The decision reinforces a separation of roles for cases that combine wildlife violations with general criminal allegations.