Supreme Court Stays High Court Order Mandating Mass Felling Of Apple Orchards in Himachal

By Yashvardhan Singh , Advocate Supreme Court of India

In a significant development with wide-ranging ecological and economic ramifications, the Supreme Court of India today issued notice and granted an interim stay on the operation of a controversial order passed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court directing the removal of apple orchards from forest lands across the hill state.
The matter was heard by a bench led by Chief Justice of India- Bhushan R. Gavai. The puisne judges on the bench were Justice K. Vinod Chandran and the recently elevated Justice Nilay V. Anjaria. The bench expressed concern over the potential irreversible ecological and economic fallout from the enforcement of the High Court’s interim directions dated 2nd July 2025.
The petition challenging the High Court order dated 2.7.2025, was filed as a Special Leave Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. The challenge was instituted by Mr. Tikender Singh Panwar, a former Deputy Mayor of Shimla and presently a member of the Kerala Urban Commission, and Advocate Rajiv Rai a practicing advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh since about last 20 years. The Special Leave Petition made a challenge to the interim order dated 2nd July 2025 passed in CWPIL No. 09 of 2015 and CWPIL No. 17 of 2004 by the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
The impugned High Court order had mandated the Forest Department to remove all apple trees and orchards standing on previously encroached forest lands; to replant indigenous forest species, and to recover the costs from alleged encroachers as arrears of land revenue. It also authorised the issuance of bailable warrants, each of a sum of Rs. 25,000/- against individuals, allegedly obstructing the implementation of the order. This order of the High Court was passed on 2nd July, 2025 by a division bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bipin Negi. The order had also directed the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh to render all assistance to the Forest Department and its officials to implement its orders.
The petitioners in the SLP, argued that such a blanket directive, issued without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or consideration of sustainable alternatives, is arbitrary, disproportionate, and unconstitutional. The felling of fully-grown apple orchards during the ongoing monsoon season, they contended, would exacerbate soil erosion, trigger landslides, and undermine the livelihoods of thousands of farmers dependent on horticulture in the ecologically fragile hill state. The Petitioners also brought to the Supreme Court’s attention the recent environmental disasters including the cloudbursts in Kullu and Mandi districts of the state.
Citing landmark precedents such as Olga Tellis v. BMC, and State of Karnataka v. Narasimhamurthy and Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India– the petitioners contended that the High Court’s order violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which encompasses the right to livelihood and the precautionary principle under environmental law, respectively.
The Supreme Court, taking cognizance of these issues, directed issuance of notice to the State Government and other respondents. Importantly, it granted an interim stay, effectively halting further implementation of the High Court’s directive. This provides temporary relief to thousands of affected farmers and halts ongoing tree-felling operations that had reportedly already resulted in the cutting of over 3,800 apple trees across regions such as Kotgarh and Rohru, as of 18th July 2025.
Legal experts note that the case raises profound questions about the balance between environmental restoration and socio-economic sustainability, especially in the context of judicial orders impacting lives and livelihoods in vulnerable hill regions.
As per the Supreme Court’s website the matter has now been tentatively listed for 16th September, 2025. The matter is likely to see further hearings in the coming weeks.
The SLP filed by Tikender S. Panwar and Mr. Rajiv Rai has also been tagged with a Special Leave Petition filed on behalf of the State of Himachal Pradesh. For now, the Supreme Court’s intervention has brought a pause to a rapidly escalating controversy over the future of Himachal’s orchards and its environmental policies.