Gujarat High Court Directs 'No Coercive Action' Against Taj Resort In PIL To Check Unauthorized Commercial Hospitality In Gir National Park

The Gujarat High Court in an interim order restrained the authorities from taking any coercive action including sealing of Tata Group's Taj Hotel resort located in the Gir National Park till August 28. 

A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray in its order said:

"The prayer for modification of the order dated 13.04.2015 to the extent that there was a direction to seal the premises being run by the modification applicant, is allowed to the extent that there shall be no coercive action against the modification applicant (respondent No.67 in the main matter) till the next date of listing". 

The high court passed the order while hearing an application moved by Indian Hotels Company Limited, which runs the Taj hotels, seeking modification of an April 13, 2015 order passed by the high court.

The modification application was filed in a 2014 PIL for preservation of the Wildlife (Protection Act,1972) read with the Indian Forest Act and also Forest (Conservation Act, 1980), to ensure that unauthorized commercial hospitality unit and the hotels be discontinued which is claimed to be having an adverse effect on the wildlife in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary by those who have not been granted N.O.C by the Forest Department or the competent authority.

The suo-motu PIL was initiated after an anonymous letter was sent to the Chief Justice in 2014 voicing serious concerns about the proposal of the State Government for setting up a new tourism zone at Chikhal Kuba near Jasadhar (Dhari Division) in the south-eastern region of the Gir Wild Life Sanctuary. The complainant had opposed the State proposal on the ground that the Gir Wild Life Sanctuary is an extremely important and critical sanctuary and should not be viewed as a tourism destination at least at the cost of the wild life and the habitat in the sanctuary.

The high court had in its April 13, 2015 order refused to prohibit the authorities from taking action of discontinuing the use of the applicant's hotel or of sealing premises observing that this prayer cannot be granted. It had observed:

"The attempt to contend by the learned applicant that as per the provisions of the Act, if the land is owned by the Central Government and has been allotted to the State Government and the State Government had given to the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat a Government Company, who in turn has given on lease basis to the applicant and therefore the N.O.C would not be required, cannot be countenance for two reasons, one is that, it is not a Central Government itself managing the unit which has been constructed over the land of the Central Government and the second is that the activity of the Government company by use of the land for commercial hospitality unit or hotel cannot be equated with the sovereign power of the state for preservation of the forest or preservation of the Wildlife under theWildlife (Conservation) Act, 1980. A Tourism Corporation which is a Gujarat Tourism Corporation, at the most can be termed as a commercial venture of the State Government which cannot be equated with the sovereign power of the state for preservation of the forest and the wildlife as per the statutory provision. On the contrary, the sovereign power would demand the enforcement of the provisions of the Forest Act as well as the Wildlife (Conservation) Act. Any commercial activity unless it is expressly exempted or unless for which express permission is granted, will have the same procedure as is to be followed by the other citizens, who is desirous to open a hotel or a commercial hospitality unit in a Wildlife Sanctuary or in a forest area. In any case, the applicant is the lessee of the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat. Hence, the contention cannot be countenance". 

The hotel was sealed after this order. Against this the applicant moved the Supreme Court which had stayed the high court's order. 

In the present modification application the court after taking note of the Supreme Court's orders of 15.05.2015, 01.12.2015, 06.03.2017 and 06.05.2025, directed the Registry to implead the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited as respondent in the array of the parties.

It said that the copy of the PIL and the Modification Application be served upon the panel counsel appearing for the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited by the counsel for applicant within 3 days.

"The panel counsel appearing for the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited and the learned Government Pleader appearing for the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests shall complete their instructions by the next date fixed. Put up this matter on 28.08.2025...In the meantime, the modification applicant (respondent No.67 in the main matter) and the respondents such as the Tourist Corporation of Gujarat Limited and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests shall exchange their pleadings," the court added. 

Case title: THE INDIAN HOTELS COMPANY LIMITED v/s Suo Motu & Ors

MCA/1/2025 IN CA/13/2015 IN R/WPPIL/284/2014

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