The National Green Tribunal on Thursday stayed the operation of an Assam government order to deploy 1,600 personnel from the state’s forest protection force for duties related to the upcoming Assembly elections, The Indian Express reported.

A bench at the tribunal’s eastern zone comprising a judicial member, Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, and an expert member, Ishwar Singh, issued the direction while hearing a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal against the deployment.

Bansal argued that the order contravened the 2002 Biological Diversity Act and a 2024 Supreme Court order against the use of forest staff for election duty.

Describing the move “bad in law”, the bench issued notices to the Assam government, the environment ministry, the National Biodiversity Authority, and the principal chief conservator of forests and the special chief secretary in the state, the newspaper reported.

On March 19, the state government ordered about 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force personnel to be deployed for the elections, requiring them to report to the office of the additional director general of police by April 3.

The order came ahead of the Assembly elections in Assam on April 9. The votes will be counted on May 4. The state administration has been reporting to the Election Commission since the Model Code of Conduct took effect on...

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