Holding

The land is not forest land, the petitioner lacks bona‑fide locus standi, and the petition is dismissed with costs.

Summary

The Supreme Court examined a public‑interest litigation filed by Deepak Agarwal challenging the lease of about 15 hectares of land to Maruti Clean Coal and Power Ltd for a coal‑washery, alleging that the land was forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The Court first assessed the applicant's locus standi, concluding that he was not a bona‑fide public‑interest litigant but a name‑lender set up by competitors of Maruti. It then evaluated the technical evidence, accepting the Central Empowered Committee's (CEC) second and third reports which relied on satellite imagery and remote‑sensing analysis (LISS‑III and ERDAS IMAGINE) and rejecting the applicant’s claim that newer technology should have been used. The Court held that the land does not qualify as forest land or "deemed forest" and therefore the lease does not violate the Forest Conservation Act. Consequently, the petition was dismissed with exemplary costs of Rs 1,00,000 payable to the CEC, and the related SLP and other applications were disposed.

Issues considered

Whether the land leased to Maruti constitutes forest land under Section 2(i) of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Whether the petitioner Deepak Agarwal has bona‑fide locus standi to file the petition as a public‑interest litigation.
Whether the CEC's reliance on LISS‑III satellite imagery and NRSA reports is technically reliable and sufficient.
Whether the court should impose costs for abuse of the judicial process.

Legislation cited

Subjects

public interest litigationlocus standiforest conservationForest (Conservation) Actremote sensingsatellite imageryenvironmental lawabuse of processcostsbona fide

Judgment

A T.N. GODAVARMAN THIRUMULPAD
v.
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

APRIL 10, 2006

B [Y.K. SABHARWAL, CJ., ARIJIT PASA YAT AND S.H. KAPADIA, JJ.]

Public Interest litigation (P/L)-Bonafide litigants-Locus standi-
P/L filed by an applicant set up by others-Maintainability of-Held: Courts
C should not allow its process to be abused by a mere busybody or a meddlesome
interloper or wayfarer or officious intervener without any interest or concern
except for personal gain or private profit or other oblique consideration-
T'he filing of an entirely misconceived and ma la fide application in the garb
of public interest litigation by the applicant is strongly deprecated-In order
to curb such PILs, exemplary cost imposed-Constitution of India, 1950, Art.
D 32.
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980: Section 2(lj.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL)-Forest conservation-Ecological
imbalance--Protection of-Certain land leased by State to a private company
~

E for establishment of a coal washery plant-An applicant filed PIL alleging
adverse effect on environment of the area as a result of the grant of lease of
forest land for non-forest activities in violation of law-The applicant claimed
that undue favour and patronage had been extended to the private company
for establishment of a coal washery plant in respect of land which was a
forest land by wrongly showing in various revenue records that the land was
F a part of a certain village whereas actually the land formed a part of another
village-To examine the question whether the land was a part of forest or
not, this Court referred the application to the Central Empowered Committee
(CEC) for its report--CEC, in its second report, concluded that the land
allotted was not a forest land-The third report, which was based on the
G satellite imageries, supported the conclusions reached by the CEC in its
second report-According to the applicant the CEC should have opted for
the latest technology and should not hm•e accepted the report of National
Remote Sensing Ageniy (NRSA)-The applicant had relied upon photo
printing ana~vsis done by him with the help of Computer Aided Designing
-
H 1046
T.N. GODAVARMAN THIRUMULPAD v. U.0.1. I 047
(CAD)-Validity of-Held: There is no merit in the argument that CEC A
should have opted for the latest technology-The later technology gives
more spatial information but that does not mean that the information given
by the earlier technology is inaccurate-NRSA 's report is reliable and there
is no reason to reject it-Hence, land allotted to the private company is not
forest land
B
Words & Phrases:

"Forest land"-Meaning of-In the context of S. 2(i) of the Forest
(Conservation) Act, I 980.

Public interest litigation was filed alleging adverse effect on C
environment of the area as a result of the grant of lease of forest-land for
non-forest activities in violation of law. The applicant claimed that undue favour
and patronage had been extended to a private company for establishment of a
coal washery plant in respect of land which was a forest land by wrongly
showing in various revenue records that the land was a part of a certain village D
whereas actually the land formed a part of another village. To examine the
question whether the land was a part of forest or not, this Court referred the
application to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) for its report. The
CEC, in its second report, concluded that the land allotted to the said private
company was not a forest land. The third report, which was based on the satellite
imageries, supported the conclusions reached by the CEC in its second report. E
According to the applicant the CEC should have opted for the latest technology
and should not have accepted the report of National Remote Sensing Agency.
The applicant had relied upon photo printing analysis done by him with the
help of Computer Aided Designing (CAD).

Dismissing the application, the Court F

HELD: I. It has been repeatedly held by this Court that none has a right
to approach the Court as a public interest litigant and that the Court must be
careful to see that a member of the public, who approaches the Court in public
interest, is acting bona fide and not for any personal gain or private profit or G
political motivation or other oblique considerations. 11058-F]

S.P. Gupta v. Union a/India, (19811 Supp. SCC 87, relied on.

2. For the last few years inflow of public interest litigation has increased
manifold. A considerable judicial time is spent in dealing with such cases. A H
1048 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2006] 3 S.C.R.

A person acting bona fide can approach the court in public interest. Such a
remedy is not open to an unscrupulous person who acts, in fact, for someone
else. The liberal rule of locus standi exercised in favour of bona fide public
interest litigants has immensely helped the cause of justice. Such litigants
have been instrumental in drawing the attention of this Court and the High
B O~urts in matters of utmost importance and in securing orders and directions
for many under-privileged such as, pavement dwellers, bonded labour,
prisoners' conditions, children, sexual harassment of girls and women, case
of communal riots, innocent killings, torture, long custody in prison without
trial or in the matters of environment, illegal stone quarries, illegal mining,
pollution of air and water, clean fud, hazardous and polluting industries or
C preservation of forest as in Godavarman 's case. While this Court has laid
down a chain of notable decisions with all emphasis at their command about
the importance and significance of this newly developed doctrine of PIL, it
has also hastened to sound a red alert and a note of severe warning that courts
should not allow its process to be abused by a mere busybody or a meddlesome
interloper or wayfarer or officious intervener without any interest or concern
D except for personal gain or private profit or other oblique consideration.
[1058-D; 1059-A, B, CJ

Janatu Dal v. H.S. Chuwdhary, (1992[ 4 SCC 305 and Dauaraj Nathuji
Thaware v. Stme of Maharashtra, (2005[ l SCC 590, relied on.

E T.N. Gudavarman Thir1111111/kpad v. Union of India, [ 19971 2 sec 267,
Amhiw Quarry Works v. State of Gujarat, [19871 1 SCC 213 and Rural
Litigation and Entitlement Kendra v. State of U.P. [1989[ Supp. I SCC 504,
referred to.

3. On perusal of the record there is no doubt that the application filed
F by the applicant is far from bona fide. He has been set up by others. The filing
of an entirely misconceived and ma/a fide application in the garb of public
interest litigation by the applicant is strongly deprecated. He is nothing but
a name lender. [1062-G[

4. The third report is based on the satellite imageries and supports the
G conclusions reached by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in its second
report. In respect of the third report, one of the submissions made on behalf
of the applicant was that reliance by CEC on Linear Imaging Self Scanning
(LISS) Ill (23.5 metre resolution) is not warranted because the satellite images
provided by RRSSC has satellite data of LISS Ill with Panchromatic Data
H Technology and LISS IV (5.8 metre resolution). It was argued that State Forest
T.N. GODAYARMAN THIRUMULPAD v. U.0.1. 1049
Report, 2003 of Forest Survey of India noticed that 5.8 metre resolutio.n A
recorded various images as small as 0.1 hectare (within given area, in this
case, the area of interest of 18.12 hectares) whereas 23.5 meter resolution
is not capable of recording anything less than l hectare forest cover within
that area. In nutshell, the contention is that LISS HI has limited technology
and, therefore, the report based on LISS JII is not reliable. The submission is
that LISS IV should have been used for arriving at the correct position. B
(1063-D, E, FJ

5.1. There is no merit in the argument that CEC should have opted for
the latest technology. The technology of 2001, 2002 and 2003 is not to be
discarded. The later technology gives more spatial information but that does C
not mean that the information given by the earlier technology is inaccurate.
The latest technology under Geographical Information System (GIS) can
locate even a pin on the earth. However, this Court is not concerned with such
1 a tiny object in this case. Be that as it may, it is pointed out that even in the

State of Forest Report 2003, Forest Survey of India (FSI) has based its figures
of forest cover by using Digital Image Processing (DIP) by using the scale of D
interpretation of 1 :50000. Further, in that report, FSl has relied upon the
introduction or a new methodology based on remote sensing to estimate the
trees covered below l hectare which tannot be discerned by using LISS Ill
data. Under the new method, a canopy of all forests that can be delineated from
satellite data (Sensor LISS 111) was termed as forest cover. Even under this
...-- E
new technology adopted by FSI the spatial resolution of 23.5 mtr. of LISS Ill
has been taken into account and by using DIP technique, forest cover was
mapped even in 2003 at a scale of I :50,000. Therefore, consistently, FSI has
taken above parameters into account. Hence, there is no merit in the
contentions rai.sed by the applicant saying that CEC has been randomly
selecting queries and data. [1065-G; l 066-A, B, Cl F

5.2. In short, the National Remote Sensing Agency's report submitted
through FSI is reliable and there is no reason to reject it. On the basis of the
said report, it can be said that AOI (area of interest) does not quali(y so as to
be included in the category of Deemed Forest i.e. a com pact block of IO
hectares having 200 trees per hectare. (1066-C, DJ G

-- 6. Except the applicant other parties before this Court have not·
questioned the conclusions in the second and the third reports of the CEC
that the land in question is not a forest land. Besides, the allottee, the State,
the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Forest Survey of India and even the
South-East Coal Field Limited have not questioned the concussion of the CEC H
1050 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] 3 S.C.R.

A that the land in question is not a forest land. (1066-D, Ef
7. Even on facts there is no substance in the plea that the land allotted
to the allottee is forest land. Accordingly, the recommendations of the CEC
as contained in the second and third reports are accepted. (1066-E)

B 8. The applications filed by the applicant are dismissed with costs. The
applicant has abused the process of law and deserves to be sternly dealt with.
Enormous judicial time has been wasted which could have been used for
deciding other cases. It has also resulted in the CEC and others incurring
huge expenses and their wastage of time as well. The cost is quantified at Rs.
C 1,00,000/- payable by the applicant to the CEC. (1066-G)

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: I.A. No. 989, 1221 & 131 I In IA Nos.
857-858
IN
Writ Petition (C) No. 202 of 1995.
D
(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.)

WITH

I.A. Nos. 997-998, 1128, 1187, 1282-1284, 1295, 1296, 1305, 1320-1321,
E 1335, 1376-1377, 1388 In WP (C) No. 202 of 1995 and SLP (C) No. 22531 of
2003.

B. Datta, A.S.G., A. Sharan, A.S.G. Harish N. Salve, (A.C.) U.U. Lalit,
(A.C.), Anoop G. Chat"dhary, A.M. Singhvi, Mukul Rohtagi, M.L. Verma, Ravi
Shankar Prashad, R.G. Padia, Arun Jaitley, A.K. Ganguli, Altaf Ahmad,
F Sidhartha Choudhary, (A.C.) P.K. Manohar, (NP) Ms. June Chaudhary, Jatemdra
Singh, Bharat Sangal, Dhruv Mehta, Aman Vachher, P.N. Puri, Gopal Jain, Mrs.
Rakhi Ray, Ms. Bina Gupta, Ms. Inklee Barooah, Pradeep Misra, Vishwajit
Singh, V. Krishna Murthy, Aniruddha P. Mayee, (NP) Prashant Kumar, Satya
Mitra, Rudreshwar Singh, Tapash K. Singh, Alok Kumar, Ms. Suparna
G Srivastava, Ms. Deepti Singh, Rajesh Srivastava, Ms. A. Subhashini, Manoj
Saxena, Amit Meharia, M.P. Meharia, Kuldip Singh, R.K. Pandey, A.K. Sinha,
Ajay Siwach, Sandeep Sharma, T.V. George, S. Wasim A. Qadri, J.K. Bhatia,
Gopal Singh, Rituraj Biswas. S.S. Shinde, V.N. Raghupathy, Bhavanishankar
V. Gandis, Mrs. Sunita B. Rao, N.M. Popli, Mrs. R.N. Karanjawala, Ms. Nandini
Gore, Ms. Pragya Singh Baghal, Manik Karanjawala, K.H. Nobin Singh, Mrs. •
H Rekha Pandey, B. K. Prasad, Brajkishore Mishra, M.D. Adhkar, Avishek Singh,
1052 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] 3 S.C.R.

A of the ownership of the land of such forests; identify areas which were earlier
forests but stand degraded, denuded or cleared; and identify areas covered
by plantation trees belonging to the Government and those belonging to
private persons.

The Government of Madhya Pradesh, of which Chhattisgarh was a part
B at the relevant time, issued a circular dated 13th January, 1997 in compliance
with the directions issued in T.N. Godavarman 's case for the purpose of
identification of the forest. The circular stated that according to the dictionary
meaning, the term 'forest' means such large areas where agriculture is not
done and which is covered by trees and shrubs. It further stated that, taking
C a practical approach, in view of the judgment as well as the dictionary
meaning of the term 'forest', area measuring 10 hectares or more' having an
average number of 200 trees per hectare ought to be treated as forest.

According to the applicant, on application of aforesaid circular, the land
in question would be forest land and it is also so under the Government
D record and as per the dictionary meaning of the term 'forest' as well.

To examine the question whether land is part of forest or not, this Court
by order dated 7th May, 2003 referred the application to Central Empowered
Committee (CEC) for its report.

E The CEC submitted its report dated 6th October, 2003 (registered as iA
989 and hereinafter referred to as' first report'). In this report, CEC concluded
that the land allotted to Maruti is a forest land and, therefore, prior approval
of the Central Government under the FC Act was necessary before allowing
setting up of coal washery plant by Maruti. Admittedly, such approval had
not been obtained.
F
The State of Chhattisgarh and Maruti vehemently disputed that the land
is part of forest. Their stand is that the land was allotted after it was clearly
established that it was not a forest land.

The first report shows that hearing before CEC took place on four
G different dates i.e. 3rd June, 2003, 9th July, 2003, 25th July, 2003 and 14th
August, 2003. On first two dates, one K.K. Srivastava appeared for the
applicant Deepak Agarwal. This fact has relevance on the issue of bonafides
of Deepak Agarwal in approaching this court in public interest, an aspect to
which we would advert to little later.
H
T.N. GODAVARMAN THIRUMULPAD v. U.0.1. [SABHARW AL, CJ.) I 051

Vijay Kumar, Ajit Kumar Sinha, A.D.N. Rao, Ciccu Mukhopadhaya, Ms. Lovelen A
Bhullar, Viplav Sharma for Mis. Suresh A. Shroff & Co., P.H. Parekh, Rohit
Alex, Ms. Sushma Manchanda for Mis. P.H. Parekh & Co., Binu Tamta, Aarohi
Bhalla, V.K. Verma, B.B. Singh, Himanshu Shekhar, Prakash Srivastava, S.N.
Terdal, Musharraf Chaudhary and B.S. Banthia for the appearing parties.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by B

Y.K. SABHARWAL, CJ. The question for consideration in these matters
is whether the land measuring about 15 hectares leased by State of Chhattisgarh
to Mis. Maruti Clean Coal and Power Limited (for short 'Maruti') for setting
up of coal washery is a part of forest land or not. This question has been
raised by one Deepak Agarwal by filing I.A. 858 of 2003 claiming to be a C
public spirited person and journalist by profession and concerned about the
adverse affect on environment of the area as a result of the grant of lease of
forest land for non forest activities in violation of law. The applicant claims
that undue favour and patronage has been extended to Maruti for establishment
of coal washery plant in respect of land which is a forest land by wrongly D
showing in various revenue records that the land is part of the village
Nawagaon Khurd whereas actually the land forms part of village Ratija.

The Parliament enacted Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (for short the
'FC Act') with a view to prevent large scale forest depletion and to protect
the forest resources. The object was to check fu11her deforestation which E
ultimately results in ecological imbalance. The Act has made provisions for
the conservation of forests and for matters connected therewith. In T.N.
Godavarman Thirumu/kpad V. Union of India & Ors., [l 997] 2 sec 267, this
Court held that the FC Act must apply to all forests irrespective of the nature
of ownership or classification thereof. Noticing earlier decisions in cases of F
Ambica Quany Works v. State of Gujarat & Ors., [1987] I SCC 213 and Rural
Litigation and Entitlement Kendra v. State of U.P., [ 1989] Supp 1 SCC 504
and dispelling doubts, if any, it was held in Godavarman that the word
'forest' must be understood according to its dictionary meaning. This
description covers all statutorily recognised forests, whether designated as
reserved, protected or otherwise for the purpose of Section 2(i) of the FC Act. G
The term 'forest land' would also include any area recorded as forest in the
Government record irrespective of the ownership. The court issued wide
ranging directions. Each State Government was directed to constitute an
Expert Committee to identify areas which are 'forests', irrespective of whether

- they are so notified, recognized or classified under any law and irrespective H
r

T.N.GODAVARMANTHIRUMULPADv. U.0.1. [SABHARWAL,CJ.J 1053

Detailed objections were filed to the first report of CEC. On directions A
of this Court, an affidavit dated 13th August, 2004 was filed by T.S. Chatwal,
Secretary (Forest) Government of Chhattisgarh, inter alia, stating that land
is not recorded in the forest land records at Katghora Division either as
protected or as reserved forest; has not been subject matter of any blanket
notification covering 'protected forest' for the then Central Provinces and B
Barar issued under Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927; does not form
part of the un-demarcated protected forest in village Ratija etc. It was further
stated that as per available traversing records for the year 1893-1894, the land
in question was traversed by the Survey oflndia and was named as Nawagaon
Khurd surrounded by village Ratija, Chainpur and Sirkikhurd and its area was
measured to be 50.25 acre, The settlement operation carried in 1929-1930 did C
not cover the land in question and as such no survey number was assigned
to this piece of land, which remained unsurveyed till June 2002.

The State Government wa~ directed to trace the relevant notifications
and other notifications issued by the forest department in the month of
October 1949 and place the same before the CEC. Maruti claimed that D
notification of October 1949 had considerable bearing on the question of the
land being forest or not. Maruti was also permitted to place the same before
CEC. Other parties were also pennitted to file before CEC additional documents.
CEC was directed to further examine the matter, hear the parties and file a
report with its recommendations.
E
In compliance of the aforenoted directions, a report dated 4th November,
2004 (Registered as I.A. 1221 and hereinafter referred to as the 'second
report') has been filed by CEC. The CEC, in the second report has noted
detailed facts, submissions of SECL, State Government, meetings with the
officers of State of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. On detailed examination F
of voluminous record including notifications and maps, the old settlement
records of the concerned villages, the CEC observed that there was no
authentic record available to show that the area of Nawagaon Khurd merged
with that of village Ratija during the settlement of 1928-1929. CEC further
observed that no revenue records are reported to have been maintained/
available or filed before it regarding the settlement of the area of Nawagaon G
Khurd or its merger with village Ratija. In the draft notification prepared by
the Orange Unit, Bilaspur, this area has not been shown as part of Ratija
village but as Nawapara (Masahati village) and that in the consolidated map
the allocation of land allotted to Maruti falls within Nawagaon Khurd and
outside the boundary of village Ratija. The CEC accordingly expressed the H
1054 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] 3 S.C.R.

A view that:
(a) the area of village Nawagaon Khurd was not merged and made a
part of village Ratija or any other adjoining villages during the
settlement of 1928-29;

B (b) no settlement records for the area of Nawagaon Khurd were
prepared during 1928-29;

(c) since new settlement has not taken place after 1928-29, the
settlement maps prepared during 1928-29 are the relevant and the

c
correct maps which have to be relied upon; and

(d) the location of the land allotted to Mis Maruti falls within the area
-
of Nawagaon Khurd and not within the village Ratija. ·

In respect of Notifications of 1949, CEC said that:

(a) none of the notifications particularly the notification dated
D 17. I0.1949 pertain to Bilaspur district; and

(b) the notification No.3228-2845 dated 17.10.1949 or 3228-3283/2845
dated 17. I0.1949 referred to in the draft orange area proposal of 2002
either do not exist or pertain to other districts.

E The CEC in the second report concluded that the land allotted to Maruti
is not a forest land.

The second report has also noticed the submission of Maruti that
application of Deepak Agarwal is not in public interest and that he has been
set up to serve the business interest of Mis Aryan Coal Private Limited (for
F short, 'Aryan') who will be adversely affected financially after the establishment
of coal washeries by Maruti due to increased competition and consequent
reduction in prices. It was also pointed out that during hearing before CEC,
Deepak Agarwal was represented by K.K. Srivastava who had represented
Aryan in revenue proceedings before Tehsildar and also that he was a witness
G in a large number of sale deeds executed by shareholders of Aryan for
purchase of land in Rajgarh.
The second report led to filing of various applications and also a letter
dated 27th March, 2005 by Secretary, Bilaspur Environment Society ftling
therewith a report of RegionaJ Remote Sensing Services Centre, Nagpur dated
H 28th February, 2005 with a view to challenge the conclusion contained in the
T.N. GODAVARMANTHIRUMULPADv. U.0.1. [SABHARWAL,CJ.] 1055

second report about land being not forest land and seeking to rely upon A
settlement record.

By an order dated !st April, 2005, CEC was directed to again examine
the entire matter and report in the light of the documents brought to the
notice of the Court and placed on record. The Forest Survey of India, Regional
Remote Sensing Agency and the South-East Coal Field Limited were directed B
to render such assistance as may be required for the purpose of preparation
of report by CEC.

After further examination, report dated 14th April, 2005 has been filed
by CEC (hereinafter referred to as 'third report').

The third report, inter alia, shows that a request was made by CEC to
c
Forest Survey of India to carry out photo interpretation of the satellite
imagery of the area by comparing imageries of different period and to give
views about vegetation, forest cover, number of trees etc. Simultaneously, the
National Remote Sensing Agency was also requested to give their comments
on the satellite imagery of the area in and around the land area allotted to D
Maruti along with significant changes in the forest cover during different
periods, reliability and accuracy of the interpretation and methodology for
identifying the areas allotted etc. The site was also visited between 12-13th
April, 2005 during which the coordinates of the area allotted to Maruti were
verified by a technical expert of FSI using the Differential Global Positioning
System (G PS) and the ground truth verification of the area was carried out E
along with Regional Director, Forest Survey of India, Nagpur. The report also
notices that during the visit, inspection of other areas was also carried out
and discussions were held with the Principal Chief, Conservator of Forests,
Chhattishgarh Forest Department, Conservator of Forests, Bilaspur Circle,
District Collector Korba, Divisional Forest Officer, Officers of SECL, members F
of the Bilaspur Environment Society, K.K. Srivastava, representative of the
applicant, representatives of the forest trade unions of the area, public
representatives, representatives of Maruti and other interested parties. Detailed
reference has been made in the third report to the interpretations of experts
including that of the Forest Survey of India. It also doubts the bonafides of
the applicant. The report further notes number of cases that were filed in G
"' respect of allotment of land to Maruti as under:

(i) Mr. B.L. Wadera - Hon'ble High Court ofChhattisgarh at Bilaspur;
(ii) Mr. Sanjay Srivastava (relation of Mr. K.K. Srivastava) - Hon'ble
High Court of Chattisgarh at Bilaspur; H
1056 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006) 3 S.C.R.

A (iii) Mr. Deepak Agarwal - present application before the Hon 'ble
Supreme Court;
(iv) Mr. Surendra Sahu - petition before the Hon'ble High Court of
Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur;
(v) SECL - present application for intervention before this Hon'9le
B Court;
(vi) SECL - suit in Katghora Civil Court;
(vii) SECL - Writ Petition against CEC' s report before this Hon 'ble
Court (dismissed as withdrawn);
C (viii) Samyuki Kendriya Shramik Sangathan - application for intervention
before this Hon 'ble Court;
(ix) Kayla Mazdoor Sabha - application for intervention before this
Hon 'ble Court;
(x) Rashtriya Colliery Mazdoor Congress - application for intervention
D before this Hon'ble Court;
(XI) Kayla Shramik Sangh - application for intervention before this
Hon 'ble Court;
(xii) Bhartiya Koyla Khadan Mazdoor Sangh - application for
intervention before this Hon 'ble Court; and
E
(xiii) Mr. B.L. Wadera - SLP against the Hon'ble High Court's order.
Regarding nexus between K.K. Srivastava and Aryan and what type of
society the Bilaspur Environmental Society is, the report states that:

"After considering the number of cases, filed on this issue, the
F documents filed by Mis Maruti regarding alleged nexus between Mr.
K.K. Srivastava with Mis Aryan, reduction in the washed coal prices
agreed to by Mis Aryan after an offer at a cheaper rate was made by
Mis Maruti to Gujarat Electricity Board, annual account of Bilaspur
Environment Society. SECL's own use of revenue forest land on a
large scale, prima-facie there appears to be some merit in the contention
G of Mis Maruti that the plethora of cases in various Courts have been
filed on behalf of its competitor M/s Aryan with a view to prevent him
from establishing the coal washery, and not in public interest.

The claim madt: by Mr. K.K. Srivastava that he is a public spirited
person involved in protection of environment and forests and that he
H
T.N. GODAVARMANTHIRUMULPADv. U.0.1. [SABHARWAL, CJ.] 1057

is not getting financial support from anybody but is spending from A
his own resources and contribution from his friends and relations, is
difficult to accept on its face value;

The accounts of Bilaspur Environment Society show that it does not
have a bank account and all receipts and expenditure are in cash."
B
The third report reiterates the conclusions and the recommendations
made in the second report that the land allotment of Maruti is not of forest
land.

At this stage, we may note that some dispute as to the title of the land
in question between State Government and Maruti on one hand and Mis C
South East Collieries Limited (SECL) on the other is pending in a civil court.
In these proceedings, we are not concerned about the title of the land that
may have to be examined and decided by the civil court. All pleas, factual and
legal, as permissible in law, would be open to the parties to be agitated before
the civil court. The only question for our consideration in these proceedings D
is as to the nature of the land, namely, it is forest land or not.

However, before we consider the aforesaid question, first the bonafides
of the applicant need to be determined. In opposition to the application filed
by Deepak Agarwal, it has been urged that the label of public interest given
,--. by the applicant in the· present litigation, is clearly and demonstrably a E
camouflage since the real person behind this application allegedly filed in
public interest is a competitor of Maruti operating in the area and having a
monopoly.

Some unions have also tried to jump into the fray by filing applications
seeking impleadment in these proceedings so as to contend that the allotment F
is of a forest land. We see no reason to allow the impleadment of parties in
these proceedings. Be that as it may, we have to decide in the light of facts
aforenoted, whether the land leased to Maruti is forest land or not. But before
we examine the question of the nature of the land being forest or not, it is
necessary to consider the bonafides of Deepak Agarwal who has approached

---
this Court in public interest. Howsoever genuine a cause brought before a G
court by a public interest litigant may be, the court has to decline its examination
at the behest of a person who, in fact, is not a public interest litigant and
whose bonafides and credentials are in doubt. In a given exceptional case
where bonafides of a public interest litigant are in doubt, the court may still
examine the issue having regard to the serious nature of the public cause and H
1058 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2006] 3 S.C.R.

A likely public injury by appointing an Amicus Curiae to assist the court but
under no circumstances with the assistance of a doubtful public interest
litigant. No trust can be placed by court on a ma/a fide applicant in public
interest litigation. These are basic issues which are required to be satisfied
by every public interest litigation.

B It was sought to be contended on behalf of Deepak Agarwal that the
CEC h.ad no authority to examine his bonafides and, thus, exceeded its
jurisdiction by stating in its report that his bonafides are in doubt. Some
-
insinuations were sought to be made against CEC and learned Amicus Curiae.
We strongly deprecate this approach of the applicant. The CEC has been
C appointed and so also learned Amicus Curiae to assist this Court in
determining issues relating to depletion of forests and preservation and
conservation of forests in the country. Many forest survey reports recognise
that various orders by this Court have helped in arresting fast depletion of
forests. Assuming in a given case an error is committed by the Committee in
its report, while pointing it out, it is necessary for the applicant to use
D temperate language in the pleadings and not the one used by the applicant.
Since, during hearing, neither the insinuations nor the language was supported
and rather regret was expressed, we would say no more on this aspect. It,
however, deserves to be clarified that it is incorrect to assume that CEC
exceeded its jurisdiction in pointing out facts which are relevant to determine
E the bonafides of the applicant. In fact, having regard to nature of duties
assigned and responsibility placed upon CEC, il is the duty of CEC to point
out facts relevant to determine bonajides of any applicant. It is always
necessary to determine real motive behind a public interest litigation.

It has been repeatedly held by this Court that none has a .right to
F approach the Court as a public interest litigant and that Court must be careful
to see that member of the public, who approaches the Court in public interest,
is acting bona fide and not for any personal gain or private profit or political
motivation or other oblique considerations. {See S. P. Gupta v. Union ofIndia
& Anr. (1981] Supp. SCC 87]}.

--
G For the last few years, inflow of public interest litigation has increased
manifold. A considerable judicial time is spent in dealing with such cases. A
person acting bona fide alone can approach the court in public interest. Such
a remedy is not open to an unscrupulous person who acts, in fact, for
someone else. The liberal rule of locus standi exercised in favour of bona fide
H public interest litigants has immensely helped the cause of justice. Such
T.N. GODAVARMAN THIRUMULPAD v. U.0.1. [SABHARWAL, CJ.] 1059

litigants have been instrumental in drawing attention of this Court and High A
. Courts in matters of utmost importance and in securing orders and directions
for many under-privileged such as, pavement dwellers, bonded labour,
prisoners' conditions, children, sexual harassment of girls and women, cases
of communal riots, innocent killings, torture, long custody in prison without
trial or in the matters of environment, illegal stone quarries, illegal mining, B
pollution of air and water, clean fuel, hazardous and polluting industries or
preservation of forest as in the Godavarman 's case. While this Court has laid
down a chain of notable decisions with all emphasis at their command about
the importance and significance of this newly developed doctrine of PIL, it
has also hastened to sound a red alert and a note of severe warning that
courts should not allow its process to be abus.ed by a mere busybody or a C
meddlesome interloper or wayfarer or officious intervener without any interest
or concern except for personal gain or private profit or other oblique
consideration {See Janata Dal v. H.S. Chowdhary & Ors., [1992] 4 SCC 305]}

It seems that this caution has not had the desired effect on the applicant
like the present one. D
1 In a recent decision in Dattaraj Nathuji Thaware v. State of Maharashtra
& Ors., [2005] l SCC 590 (Arijit Pasaya! and S.H. Kapadia, JJ) taking note of
earlier decisions, it was said that:

"It is depressing to note that on account of such trumpery proceedings E
initiated before the Courts, innumerable days are wasted, which time
otherwise could have been spent for the disposal of cases of the
genuine litigants. Though we spare no efforts in fostering and
developing the laudable concept of PIL and extending our long arm
of sympathy to the poor, the ignorant, the oppressed and the needy F
whose fundamental rights are infringed and violated and whose
grievances go unnoticed, un-represented and unheard; yet we cannot
avoid but express our opinion that while genuine litigants w~th
legitimate grievances relating to civil matters involving properties
worth hundreds of millions of rupees and criminal cases in which
persons sentenced to death facing the gallows under untold agony G
and persons sentenced to life imprisonment and kept in incarceration
for long years, persons suffering from undue delay in service matters
- government or private, persons awaiting the disposal of cases wherein
huge amounts of public revenue or unauthorized collection of tax
amounts are locked up, detenus expecting their release from the H
1060 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] 3 S.C.R.

A detention orders etc. etc. are all standing in a long serpentine queue
for years with the fond hope of getting into the Courts and having
their grievances redressed, the busybodies, meddlesome interlopers,
wayfarers or officious interveners having absolutely no public interest
except for personal gain or private profit either of themselves or as a
proxy of others or for any other extraneous motivation or for glare of
B publicity break the queue muffling their faces by wearing the mask of
public interest litigation and get into the Courts by filing vexatious
and frivolous petitions and thus criminally waste the valuable time of
the Courts and as a result of which the queue standing outside the
doors of the Courts never moves, which piquant situation creates
c frustration in the minds of the genuine litigants and resultantly they
lose faith in the administration of our judicial system.

Public interest litigation is a weapon which has to be used with great
care and circumspection and the judiciary has to be extremely careful
to see that behind the beautiful veil of public interest, an ugly private
D malice, vested interest and/or publicity-seeking is not lurking. It is to
be used as an effective weapon in the armory of law for delivering
social justice to citizens. The attractive brand name of public interest
litigation should not be used for suspicious products of mischief. It
should be aimed at redressal of genuine public wrong or public injury
and not bt: publicity-oriented or founded on personal vendetta. As
E indicated above, Court must be careful to see that a body of persons
or member of the public, who approaches the court is acting bona fide
and not for personal gain or private motive or political motivation or
other oblique considerations. The Court must not allow its process to
be abused for oblique considerations by masked phantoms who
F monitor at times from behind. Some persons with vested interest
indulge in the pastime of meddling with judicial process either by
force of habit or from improper motives, and try to bargain for a good
deal as well as to enrich themselves. Often they are actuated by a
desire to win notoriety or cheap popularity. The petitions of such
busybodies deserve to be thrown out by rejection at the threshold,
G and in appropriate cases with exemplary costs."

It was further said :

"Courts must do justice by promotion of good faith, and prevent law
from crafty invasions. Courts must maintain the social balance by
-
....

H interfering where necessary for the sake of justice and refuse to
T.N. GODA VARMAN THIRUMULPAD v. U.0.1. [SABHARWAL, CJ. J I 061

interfere where it is against the social interest and public good. (See A
State of Maharashtra v. Prabhu and Andhra Pradesh State Financial
Corporation v. GAR Re-Rolling Mills and Anr. No litigant has a right
to unlimited draught on the Court time and public money in order to
get his affairs settled in the manner as he wishes. Easy access to
justice should not be misused as a licence to file misconceived and B
frivolous petitions. (See Dr. B.K. Subbarao v. Mr. K. Parasaran)
Today people rush to Courts to file cases in profusion under this
attractive name of public interest. They must inspire confidence in
Courts and among the public."

Now, reverting to the present case, it seems that lakhs of rupees have C
been spent by the applicant and/or on his behalf to prosecute the present
litigation. On our direction, the applicant filed his income tax return which
shows that he has hardly any means to incur huge amounts which have been
spent to pursue this litigation. Further, when the matter was referred by this
court to CEC for a report on first date of hearing, K.K. Srivastava represented
the applicant. Learned senior counsel for the applicant fairly and candidly D
admitted that sometimes along with the advocate-on-record, K.K. Srivastava
has been coming to instruct him. There is ample material on record that on
numerous occasions, K.K. Srivastava represented Aryan before number of
authorities.

There is also ample material to show that K.K. Srivastava has been E
collecting material to prove that the land in question is forest land. He is a
person in contact with Aryan. Regarding his financial status, Deepak Agarwal
has filed an affidavit dated 24th August, 2005 along with which certain
documents have also been filed. In the affidavit, it has been claimed by him
that he is fighting the case with the help of like-minded people, well-wishers p
and friends. As to his own financial resources, it is stated that in the income
tax return, financial help taken from friends, social workers and like-minded
people has not been shown as it does not fall in the category of income. He
has filed affidavits of some people from whom it is claimed that donation
collectively of the sum of Rs. 86,500 was taken. As per the affidavit ofDef pak
Agarwal, a sum of Rs. 55,000 has been incurred by Bilaspur. Environment G
Society for obtaining satellite imagery report. Further, a sum of Rs. 60,000 has
been spent by him on traveling and lodging expenses in connection with
litigation and Rs. 50,000 in connection with documentation and other court
expenses. A revised income tax return filed on 31st March, 2005 has been
placed on record. According to it, the total income from business is shown H
1062 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] 3 S.C.R.

A as Rs. 51,560 and from other sources at Rs. 1,02,947 total being Rs. 1,54,507.
It has not been disclosed as to when the original Income Tax return was filed.
The amount of tax shown to have been deducted at source is Rs. 5,147. The
date of birth of Deepak Agarwal as per income tax return is 22nd February,
1973. However, in the affidavit dated 24th August, 2005, the age mentioned
B is 32 years whereas in the affidavit dated 19th July, 2005, it is stated as 35
years. Further, a perusal of the affidavits of the persons from whom donation
is said to have been taken shows that alleged donors of cash amounts are
mainly employees of SECL and contractors working for Aryan. It has not been
explained as to what was the reason for filing a revised income tax return. A
submission was sought to be made at hearing, without any plea having been
C raised in the application or the affidavit, that Deepak Agarwal came to this
Court as a lone crusader bona fide but later on some help was rendered by
others who donated the amount as claimed and also by Bilaspur Environment
Society. It may be noted that Maruti has been pleading since beginning that
Deepak Agarwal has been set up by their competitor and there was, in fact,
a link between the competitors of Maruti and Deepak Agarwal in the form of
D K.K. Srivastava. Deepak Agarwal, in fact, denied that there was any link
between him and K.K. Srivastava who appeared on his behalf before CEC and
Aryan and took the stand that nothing has been submitted to prove that it
was the same K.K. Srivastava who appeared on behalf of the Aryan. Regarding
K.K. Srivastava being attesting witness to the sale deeds, it was pleaded that
E K.K. Srivastava was in a business of sale and purchase of land and in course
of his business dealing, he might have come across such sale deeds. The
same plea was taken in respect of proceedings before Tehsildar. Regarding the
Bilaspur Environment Society, which purportedly assisted Deepak Agarwal,
as admitted by him and allegedly paid Rs. 55,000 for obtaining satellite images,
it may be noted that firstly, one fails to understand as to what prevented the
F said society from approaching this court. Secondly, a close perusal of the
record throws open many questions about the credibility of the society which
spent Rs. 55,000 in cash for obtaining satellite images and also obtained
donations.

G On perusal of record, we have no doubt that the application filed by
Deepak Agarwal is far from bona fide. He has been set up by others. We
strongly deprecate the filing of an entirely misconceived and mala fide
application in the garb of public interest litigation by Deepak Agarwal. He is
nothing but a name lender.

H Despite our conclusion as aforesaid, we have in-depth examined the
T.N. GODAVARMANTHIRUMULPADv. U.0.1. [SABHARWAL, CJ.] 1063

three reports of CEC. The CEC in its second report has explained in detail the A
grounds and the reasons for reversal of its findings as contained in the first
report. The first report had only considered the letter dated 17th October, 2002
of DFO, Khatghora including no objection from grampanchayat, orange area
proposals of 1997-98, joint inspection report of 18th October, 2002 with
enumeration lists, report ofDeepak Srivastava & Mr. Negi ofMoEF, Members B
and SECL maps. The second report, however, considers in detail several
notifications of the order of October 1999, old settlement maps and the
guidelines of State Government in respect of orange area proposals. It shows
that non-forest land can also be included in the said proposals and various
other documents and for reaching the conclusion that the land in question
is not a forest land, in fact, the said land was of Nawagaon Khurd and not C
village Ratija and that this area was not formally merged and made part of
village Ratija in the settlement (Bandobast) carried out during 1928-29. We
have examined various old record from 1893-94 onwards including the old
maps and find no reason to take a view different than the one taken by CEC
in its second report. The conclusions reached and the recommendations made
in the second report deserve to be accepted. D
The third report is based on the satellite imageries and supports the
conclusions reached by CEC in its second report. In respect of the third
report, one of the submissions made on behalf of Deepak Agarwal was that
reliance by CEC on LISS lll (23.5 metre resolution) is not warranted because E
the satellite images provided by RRSSC has satellite data of LISS lJl with
Panchromatic Data Technology and LISS IV (5.8 metre resolution). It was
argued that State Forest Report, 2003 of Forest Survey of India noticed that
5.8 metre resolution recorded various images as small as 0.1 hectare (within
given area, in this case, the area of interest of 18.12 hectares) whereas 23.5
meter resolution is not capable of recording anything less than I hectare F
forest cover within that area. In nutshell, the contention is that LISS lII has
limited technology and, therefore, the report based on LISS III is not reliable.
The submission is that LISS IV should have been used for arriving at the
correct position.

In short, Deepak Agarwal has submitted that the report of NRSA was G

- not accurate because it has opted for a technology with 23 .5 metre spatial
resolution and output generation in the scale of I :50000 considered to be
inferior with respect to smaller po1tion of land. According to Deepak Agarwal,
NRSA should have opted for a better technology available today under which
the spatial resolution is available at 5.8 meter and also output generation in H
1064 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2006) 3 S.C.R.

A the scale of I: 15000. According to Deepak Agarwal, CEC should not have
accepted the report of NRSA based on the above parameters of 23 .5 metre
(spatial resolution) and of output generation in the scale of 1: 50000.

In order to decide the above contentions, it is necessary to understand
the following concepts:
B
(i) GIS (GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM)

GIS is an organized collection of computer hardware, software,
geographic data designed to capture all forms of geographically referenced
information (See Volusia.org). In short, it is a computer system capable of
C holding and using data describing places on the earth's surface. ERDAS ......
IMAGINE 8.6 is a computer tool under GIS. It is referred to in the report of
Forest Survey of India (FSI) dated 14.4.2005 annexed to the third report of
CEC.

D ERDAS IMAGINE 8.6 is an advanced software product used for image
processing, to uncover features like boundary and area of a given plot of land
{face). Once uncovered, the geographical information is integrated with
attributes (spatial and non-spatial) and stored in an information system to be
used for analysis.

E Images can be taken from satellites or from planes flying over an area
of interest (AOI). Under ERDAS IMAGINE 8.6, the images are comprised of
pixels (picture elements) which are contained in the image. These pixels are
scanned by the computer which gives the boundary and the area. It also
scans the colours. Different surfaces reflect light differently. Colour images
are used to identify various ground objects like forests, man-made surfaces,
F roads etc. For example, healthy crops contain infra-red light whereas forests
reflect different colours of the spectrum, making the spectrum information an
important component of geographical information analysis. This advancement
of techn.ology is due to combination of telecommunication and computer
engineering (See: webopedia.com).
G The above discussion is important because Deepak Agarwal has relied
upon photo printing analysis done by him with the help of CAD (Computer
Aided Designing).

The issue which is required to be considered is whether ERDAS
-
H IMAGINE 8.6 used by NRSA is better than CAD which is a programme used
T.N. GODAVARMANTHIRUMULPADv. U.0.1. [SABHARWAL, CJ.] 1065

by Deepak Agarwal. We have indicated broadly the advanced features of the A
software, viz., ERDAS IMAGINE 8.6. On the other hand, CAD, is also a
software used by engineers to view a design from an angle with the push of
a button and to zoom in and zoom out for close-ups and long distance views.
It helps the computer to tract designs. CAD software generally examines the
boundaries and that too in a design. In the present case, we are concerned
with the area covered by the forests. Therefore, the technology adopted by B
NRSA based on ERDAS IMAGINE 8.6 is more reliable than CAD.

Therefore, GIS links spatial data with geographical information about a
particular feature on the map (See: volusia.org).

-- (ii) CPS (Global Positioning System)

G_PS is a satellite based positioning system operated by USA. It consists
c

of satellites. It is a data collection tool for GIS. Basically, the signals from the
satellites in GPS are received by GPS receivers on the earth. Therefore,
different stations are earmarked on the earth covering a particular area. It is D
the matching of the satellite with the receiver which plays an important role.
Certain discrepancies in the matching are got over by differential GPS (See:
esri.com).

(iii) IRS - LISS Ill
E
It stands for Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor which is a multi-
s pectral camera. LISS-Ill products comprise of path/row products,
georeferenced products etc. (See: earth.esa.int). It helps to track areas and
boundaries. Combination of LISS III with ERDAS-imagine is more reliable than
photo print analysis by CAD. It is better to depend on interpretation of IRS F
LISS III Digital Data by EDRAS Imagine than by CAD.

As stated above, the main challenge to the NRSA report is that proper
parameters have not been taken into account and although better technology
was available the same was not deliberately resorted to. The contention is
that CEC should have opted for the latest technology. G
We do not find merit in this argument. The technology of2001, 2002 and
2003 is not to be discarded. The later technology gives more spatial information
but that does not mean that the information given by the earlier technology
is inaccurate. The latest technology under GIS can locate even a pin on the
earth. However, we are not concerned with such a tiny object in this case. H
1066 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006) 3 S.C.R.

A Be that as it may, we may also point out that even in the State of Forest
Report 2003, FSI has based its figures of forest cover by using Digital Image
Processing (DIP) by using the scale of interpretation of I :50000. Further, in
that report, FSI has relied upon the introduction of a new methodology based
on remote sensing to estimate the trees covered below I hectare which cannot
be discerned by using LISS-Ill data. Under the new method, a canopy of all
B forests that can be delineated from satellite data (Sensor LISS-l!I) was termed
as forest cover. Even under this new technology adopted by FSI the spatial
resolution of 23.5 mtr. of LISS-Ill has been taken into account and by using
DIP technique, forest cover was mapped even in 2003 at a scale of I: 50000.
Therefore, consistently, FSI has taken the above parameters into account.
C Hence, there is no merit in the contentions raised by Deepak Agarwal saying
that CEC has been randomly selecting queries and data.

In short, NRSA' s report submitted through FSI is reliable and we see
no reason to reject it. On the basis of the said report, it can be said that AO!
(area of interest) does not qualify so as to be included in the category of
D Deemed Forest i.e. a compact block of I0 hectares having 200 trees per
hectare.

Before concluding, it may also be noted that except Deepak Agarwal,
other parties before us have not questioned the conclusions in the second
and the third report of CEC that the land in question is not a forest land.
E Besides, Maruti being the allottee, the State of Chhattisgarh, the Ministry of
Environment and Forest, Forest Survey of India and even SECL have not
questioned the conclusion of CEC that the land in question is not a forest
land.

In view of the aforesaid discussion, even on facts we find no substance
F
in the plea that the land allotted to Maruti is forest land. Accordingly, we
accept the recommendations of CEC as contained in the second and third
report. As already noted, the dispute in respect of the title is not a matter in
issue before us. Thus. we have not examined this issue.

G In conclusion, we dismiss the applications filed by Deepak Agarwal
with costs. The applicant has abused the process of law and deserves to be
sternly dealt with. The enormous judicial time has been wasted which could
have been used for deciding other· cases. It has also resulted in CEC and
others incurring huge expenses and their wastage ohime as well. In this view,
we quantify costs at Rs. 1,00,000 payable by the applicant Deepak Agarwal
H
T.N. GODAVARMAN THIRUMULPAD v. U.O.I.[SABHARWAL, CJ.] 1067

to CEC. The cost, if not deposited with CEC within four weeks, shall .be A
executable as a decree. The amount of cost shall be utilized for preservation
of forests in State of Chhattisgarh. The Special Leave Petition and other
applications are also disposed of in terms of this judgment.

v.s.s. . Application dismissed.
B

-