NEW DELHI, November 18, 2025 — The Supreme Court of India, in a far-reaching judgment arising from ecological violations in the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, has mandated a uniform national compensation of ₹10 lakh for every human death caused by wild animals. The Court further strongly urged all States to consider classifying human-wildlife conflict as a “natural disaster” to ensure faster relief and administrative mobilization.
The landmark ruling, In Re: Corbett (2025 LiveLaw SC 1112), presided over by Chief Justice BR Gavai, rejected contentions by State authorities regarding financial flexibility, stating that uniformity in compensation is mandatory to uphold the principles of equality and humane governance.
Addressing Systemic Failures
The case, which began by scrutinizing illegal tree felling and unauthorized construction in Jim Corbett, expanded into a broader review of systemic lapses in conservation and conflict management nationwide.
Petitioners argued that the absence of uniform standards led to arbitrary compensation practices, with some States offering generous aid while others provided negligible relief, eroding public trust. They pressed the Court to activate relief mechanisms under the Disaster Management Act by classifying such incidents as a natural disaster.
The States, conversely, argued that a uniform ₹10 lakh compensation was financially challenging and contended that classifying conflict as a “natural disaster” may not be administratively feasible for all jurisdictions.
Court Mandates Uniformity and Swift Response
The Supreme Court decisively held that the increasing frequency of human-wildlife conflict demands a unified national approach rooted in compassion and timely relief.
• Uniform Compensation: All States must fix compensation for human death caused by wild animals uniformly at ₹10 lakh, in accordance with Central Government norms under the “Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats” scheme. The Court asserted that fragmented, State-by-State approaches lead to inequality and confusion.
• “Natural Disaster” Status: The bench strongly accepted the recommendation that States should actively consider classifying human-wildlife conflict as a “natural disaster.” The Court noted that this status, already adopted by States like Uttar Pradesh, facilitates faster access to disaster relief funds and immediate mobilization of administrative machinery.
• Coordinated Mechanism: The Court mandated that every State must build a coordinated, swift-response administrative mechanism, involving the Forest, Revenue, Disaster Management, Police, and Panchayati Raj departments, to ensure victims receive immediate attention and relief without prolonged bureaucratic hurdles.
Model Guidelines and Community Trust
Highlighting the importance of public trust, the Court observed that communities living in forest fringe areas are frontline partners in wildlife protection and are owed dignified and timely support when tragedies occur.
To ensure consistency, the bench directed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to frame comprehensive Model Guidelines on managing human-wildlife conflict within six months. Every State must then adopt these guidelines within a further six months, thereby creating a uniform national standard covering compensation, verification procedures, crop/cattle loss assessments, and scientific mitigation tools.
By linking the ecological degradation in the Jim Corbett Reserve with the national issue of human-wildlife conflict, the judgment serves as a sweeping directive for structural reforms, emphasizing that conservation failures inevitably lead to human suffering.