The Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its nationwide directions requiring states and Union territories to identify reserved forest land that has been illegally diverted to private entities and restore such land to the respective forest departments. A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant dismissed a curative petition filed by the Richie Rich Cooperative Housing Society (RRCHS), leaving the court’s earlier directions in force.

The curative petition challenged the Supreme Court’s May 15, 2025 judgment concerning the allotment of 11.89 hectares of land in Pune, Maharashtra, to RRCHS. The land fell within a reserved forest area and had been allotted to the cooperative housing society in October 1999. The Supreme Court had subsequently set aside the allotment, finding the circumstances surrounding the diversion of the forest land serious enough to warrant broader judicial intervention.

The bench headed by CJI Surya Kant dismissed the curative plea on August 18, effectively declining to revisit the directions issued in the earlier judgment. The ruling means that the framework requiring states and Union territories to examine instances of reserved forest land being diverted to private parties remains operational. The directions extend beyond the individual dispute involving the Pune property and require authorities across the country to undertake a wider exercise to identify such land.

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The Richie Rich case became significant because of the nature of the land involved and the manner in which it had been allotted. The 11.89-hectare parcel in Pune was part of a reserved forest area, despite being allotted to the cooperative housing society. The Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter prompted it to examine whether similar instances of forest land had been diverted elsewhere. The court treated the case as an indication that stronger mechanisms were necessary to protect forest land from unauthorised or illegal transfers to private entities.

Under the directions that remain in force, states and Union territories are required to constitute special investigation teams, or SITs, to identify reserved forest land that has been illegally diverted to private parties. Where such diversion is established, the land is to be restored to the concerned forest departments. The nationwide scope of the directions means that the issue is no longer confined to the Pune allotment but involves the protection and recovery of forest land across jurisdictions.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to entertain the curative petition therefore preserves its broader approach to preventing the private appropriation of reserved forest areas. The ruling reinforces the obligation of state authorities to scrutinise land records and identify forest parcels that may have been diverted in violation of applicable protections. With the curative plea dismissed, the directions arising from the 2025 judgment continue to guide the process of identifying and restoring illegally diverted reserved forest land across India.

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