Above: Photo courtesy wiienvis.nic.in

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 14) issued notices, asking for replies on what has been done to relocate human settlements from within and around Tiger Reserves to stop indiscriminate killing of the wild cats around the country.

Notices were sent to the Centre, the Wildlife Institute of India, National Board for Wildlife, National Tiger Conservation Authority, among others.

The court bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, was hearing a petition by advocate Anupam Tripathi. In his PIL, Tripathi has stated that 41 tigers had been killed in seven months between January and August 9, 2015. He has quoted data provided by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The petition also stated that 74 tiger deaths were reported in 2016, most killed by locals who were living in or around such sanctuaries and others by poachers.

The petition said tigers were being indiscriminately, barbarically and monstrously killed either by poisoning by the locals or by the authorities, shooting by the Forest Guards, poaching etc.

—India Legal Bureau