Ex-bureaucrats warn of bias in forest panel, urge CJI to overhaul CEC over conflict of interest

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 2, 2025

Sixty retired civil servants have urged the Chief Justice of India to immediately reconstitute the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), raising red flags over what they describe as a serious conflict of interest that threatens the integrity of Supreme Court proceedings on forest-related cases.

In an open letter under the banner of the Constitutional Conduct Group, the former officials slammed the current composition of the CEC—an expert advisory body to the apex court on forest and wildlife matters—as being stacked entirely with former bureaucrats from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), with no independent voices.

Originally set up in 2002 to ensure impartial oversight, the CEC was meant to include both government and non-government experts. But since its reconstitution in 2023, all four members are retired MoEFCC officials, including three ex-Indian Forest Service officers and a retired ministry scientist.

The signatories argue that this creates a built-in bias. Two of the current members held top policymaking roles and were closely involved in decisions now under legal scrutiny—including the Forest Conservation Amendment Act (FCAA), 2023, which is being challenged in the Supreme Court. One member, they note, even defended the bill before Parliament while still in service.

The former civil servants outlined how past decisions by these officials—such as allowing the diversion of degraded or revenue forest land for compensatory afforestation—contradict the Supreme Court’s landmark Godavarman judgment of 1996. “How can those who crafted the policy now objectively review it?” the group asked.

They also highlighted the CEC’s recent recommendation in the case of Maharashtra’s ‘zudpi’ forests—scrubland habitats home to rare species like the Great Indian Bustard and Indian grey wolf. The CEC reportedly dismissed the ecological value of these forests. Though the Supreme Court ultimately did not fully endorse the committee’s advice, the incident, the letter said, underscores the risks of relying on a panel with no independent oversight.

Calling the current CEC “structurally biased,” the group demanded that it be barred from involvement in any case related to the FCAA. They urged the CJI to reconstitute the body to include independent environmental scientists and legal experts unconnected to the policies under challenge.

“This is not just about procedural fairness—it’s about safeguarding the future of India’s forests and upholding the credibility of the judicial process,” the letter concluded.