Retd forest officer re-appointment: Gauhati High Court seeks Assam government response

The Guwahati High Court last week sought the Assam government’s response in a public interest litigation challenging the re-appointment of retired Indian Forest Service officer M K Yadava, considered a close aide to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

On May 14, Yadava was granted a third post-retirement contractual extension/re-engagement as Special Chief Secretary (Forest).

A division bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury issued notice to the Assam government on September 11 and sought its response to the contentions by the next date of hearing on October 15.

Assam-based environmental activist Rohit Choudhury, represented by advocate Abir Phukan, flagged in his PIL that while a 2018 office memorandum by the Assam government had contemplated post-retirement engagement in “rare and exceptional circumstances”, it was subsequently modified in 2024.

The plea claimed it did away with consideration or approval of a state-empowered committee for such engagements if the proposal already had prior approval of the Chief Minister.
The modification had come days before Yadava’s superannuation.

Yadava, who superannuated in February 2024, got extensions in February 2024 and 2025, and now in May this year. His current tenure expires on November 12 this year.

Choudhary challenged the fresh re-appointment on the ground of adverse observations made by the Union environment ministry against Yadava in the past, as well as the 2024 modification to the office memorandum. He also sought records and their details based on which the decision was taken to grant Yadava a third extension.

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As an interim relief, he has sought that any further extension beyond Yadava’s current tenure be stayed.

Allegations against the officer

Last year, the environment ministry’s regional office in Shillong had directed the Assam forest department to take legal action against Yadava for authorising two commando battalion camps on forest land in “gross violation” of the law.

This was after Yadava was served a show-cause notice in May 2024, after he was deemed guilty of violating the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 2023. It was held that he authorised Assam Police commando battalion camps in the Geleky forest, Sivasagar district, and in Damchera, Hailakandi district, over 26 hectares and 11 hectares of forest land, respectively, in his capacity as the then principal conservator of forest (PCCF) and head of the forest force (HoFF) in Assam.
In April 2024, even as the environment ministry had already directed the Assam government to stop work on the Damchera camp, CM Sarma sought its regularisation.

Sarma wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, requesting that the environment ministry accord a “post facto” approval to the camp, which was granted eventually. He had sought to justify the camps on forest land, citing national security and forest encroachment as reasons.
Choudhury, in his PIL, has highlighted that this diversion, as alleged against Yadava, has public-interest significance and “assumes further importance in view of the unprecedented floods reported from Geleky” in July this year.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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