JABALPUR, Madhya Pradesh — Taking serious note of a sharp rise in tiger fatalities, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday directed the state government and the National Tiger Conservation Authority to submit a detailed report on the issue by February 25.
The order was passed while the court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey, who has raised concerns over the deaths of 54 tigers in 2025 — the highest number recorded in a single year nationwide — and nine additional tiger deaths reported in the state since January this year.
During the hearing, senior advocate Aditya Sanghi presented data on tiger fatalities in Madhya Pradesh and informed the court that several of the recent deaths occurred under suspicious circumstances. He said the court also issued a specific direction to the field director of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve to submit a comprehensive investigative report by February 25.
The state government and the tiger conservation authority were expected to file their responses on Wednesday but sought additional time. Sanghi told the court that in the first month of 2026 alone, nine tigers were found dead, with most cases linked to areas under the jurisdiction of the Bandhavgarh reserve.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the bench directed the field director to explain the circumstances leading to the loss of tigers in such significant numbers and to outline the measures taken to prevent further deaths.
During arguments, Sanghi alleged that organized poaching is rampant in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and accused forest authorities of downplaying the issue by attributing deaths to territorial fights among animals. He argued that such explanations obscure what he described as a more serious crisis.
The petition further claimed that poaching networks and electrocution are the primary causes behind the decline in the tiger population, alleging that enforcement agencies have failed to act decisively and have not implemented effective anti-poaching measures.
After hearing the submissions, the court directed the concerned authorities to place their detailed replies on record at the next hearing scheduled for February 25. (Source: IANS)
