SC recommends policy to preserve sacred groves
A Bench, comprising Justices B.R. Gavai, S.V.N. Bhatti and Sandeep Mehta, emphasised India’s rich heritage of sacred groves, which are clusters of trees or forest patches preserved by local communities.
“The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is recommended to develop a nationwide policy for managing sacred groves,” the Bench stated.
The judgment also referenced a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, highlighting the interconnectedness of nature and consciousness: “Nature is the source of all material things: the maker, the means of making and the things made. Spirit is the source of all consciousness which feels pleasure and feels pain.”
Kodagu district is renowned for its Devara Kadu — sacred groves — and temples nestled within dense, untamed forests. These ecological havens, found in every village across the district, serve as a unifying force for families and diverse communities. Kodagu is home to nearly 1,214 Devara Kadus, spanning 4,614 hectares, where native communities worship folk deities. Activities such as tree felling, lopping, clearing fallen branches, plucking weeds, pruning or burning trees are strictly prohibited within Devara Kadus. It is widely believed that any violation of these sacred rules invites divine retribution, with offenders punished by death at the hands of the presiding folk deity.
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