Guwahati: Even as the Assam government told the Gauhati High Court on Thursday (November 12) that retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer M.K. Yadava would have no further role in the Forest Department, an official tour programme issued in his name on the same day scheduled him to attend Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s programme at Behali Wildlife Sanctuary.
The apparent contradiction raises questions over the authority under which Yadava issued the tour programme and continued to undertake official assignments after his contractual tenure as Special Chief Secretary (Forest) ended on November 11.
The Assam government informed the High Court on Thursday that it would not extend Yadava’s contractual engagement as Special Chief Secretary (Forest) or engage him in any other capacity under the Forest Department. It also told the court that the state Cabinet had decided against any further engagement of the retired officer in the department.
However, in a significant disclosure, the government informed the court that Yadava would instead be re-engaged on a contractual basis in the Mines and Minerals Department.
The government’s submission makes the official tour programme dated November 12 particularly intriguing.
The document, signed by Yadava in his capacity as Special Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam, Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, outlines a two-day official visit to Behali in connection with the Chief Minister’s programme at the wildlife sanctuary.
According to the programme, Yadava was scheduled to depart for Behali at 1:30 PM on Thursday, November 12, and arrive there at 6 PM to review preparations for the Chief Minister’s visit. He was then scheduled to return to Tezpur at 8:30 PM.
On Friday, November 13, the tour programme scheduled him to leave for Behali at 7:30 AM, attend the Chief Minister’s programme at 10 AM and depart for the headquarters at 5 PM, reaching at approximately 9:30 PM.
The apparent discrepancy raises questions about the authority under which Yadava issued the November 12 tour programme using his designation as Special Chief Secretary (Forest), despite the government’s decision that his tenure in the department had ended on November 11.
The tour programme was not merely a personal itinerary. It was circulated to senior government officials and multiple administrative and police authorities, seeking official arrangements for his visit.
Copies were marked to the Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Environment and Forest Minister’s office, Commissioner and Secretary of the Environment and Forest Department, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, Chief Wildlife Warden, and Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police of Morigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Biswanath districts.
The Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch), Assam, was also requested to provide an escort for the journey. The Commandants of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Assam Police Forest Protection Force battalions were asked to take necessary action.
The document, bearing Memo No. SCS/MKY/TOUR/2024/91-A, is dated Dispur, November 12, 2026.
It is particularly significant that the tour programme was issued on the very day the Assam government informed the High Court that Yadava would not continue in the Forest Department.
Govt’s submission before Gauhati High Court
The Assam government’s statement came during the hearing of PIL 57/2026 filed by environmental activist Rohit Choudhury, challenging Yadava’s continued post-retirement engagement.
Additional Advocate General P.N. Goswami, appearing for the Assam government, informed a division bench of Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Sanjeev Kumar Sharma that Yadava’s third extension as Special Chief Secretary (Forest) had ended on November 11.
The government further submitted that the state Cabinet had decided against extending his engagement in the Forest Department but that he would be re-engaged on a contractual basis in the Mines and Minerals Department.
Following the government’s submission, the division bench closed the PIL, observing: “On considering all the above, we do not find any reason to continue with the present PIL.”
A separate Court order
In a separate case, WP(C)/5452/2026, filed by Amarjyoti Choudhury, the Gauhati High Court also closed proceedings concerning the proposed extension of Yadava’s service in the Forest Department.
In an order dated November 12, 2026, Justice Nchumbemo Mozhui recorded the government’s submission that no extension order had been issued and that it was not contemplating any further extension of Yadava’s service in the department.
The petitioner’s counsel, B.D. Konwar, told the court that his client had no further grievance following the government’s submission. The court subsequently closed the petition as infructuous.
The order followed an earlier direction asking the government to obtain instructions on whether Yadava’s service would be extended in the Forest Department beyond November 11, 2026.
The closure of the two petitions came after the government made clear that Yadava would not continue in the Forest Department beyond the expiry of his third extension.
The court’s decision to close PIL 57/2026 came a day after it had sought clarification from the state government on whether two communications issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on May 29, 2025, had been examined before granting Yadava his third extension.
The court had sought details of the action, if any, taken against Yadava in response to the Centre’s communications and whether the matter had been considered by the competent authority before his third extension was approved on May 14, 2026.
Yadava retired as Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force in February 2024. He was initially appointed Special Chief Secretary (Forest) on a contractual basis for one year from March 1, 2024. His engagement was subsequently extended in February 2025 and again on May 14, 2026.
The controversy surrounding his re-engagement was linked to forest land diversion permissions granted during his tenure as PCCF and Head of Forest Force, including the diversion of 28 hectares of Geleky Reserved Forest in Sivasagar district and 11.5 hectares of Innerline Reserved Forest at Damchera in Hailakandi district.
The MoEF&CC had issued communications concerning alleged violations of provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, and the corresponding 2023 Rules.
The Assam government had earlier defended Yadava’s re-engagement before the High Court, arguing that it was legally valid and administratively justified.
While the closure of the PIL ends the present judicial proceedings, the court did not adjudicate the merits of the allegations concerning the forest land diversion decisions or the legality of Yadava’s proposed contractual engagement in the Mines and Minerals Department.
However, the November 12 tour programme has opened a fresh administrative question: If Yadava’s authority as Special Chief Secretary (Forest) ended on November 11, why was an official tour programme issued under that designation on November 12, with instructions to senior government officials, district administrations and police authorities to facilitate his visit?
The Assam government and the Chief Secretary need to clarify the circumstances under which the programme was issued and whether Yadava had any authorisation to discharge Forest Department functions after the expiry of his tenure.