How MP legal shield for forest staff using guns took years to come

Unlike police-paramilitary, use of firearms on duty by forest staff had invited cases, including of murder, for years now. A Supreme Court ruling settled the issueThe Madhya Pradesh government has finally armed the forest department with legal protection to use guns while discharging their duties. The issue had been hanging fire for years, with things moving now after a Supreme Court directive last month in a case of illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary.The state government notification issued on August 7 covers forest guards, foresters, deputy rangers, rangers, assistant conservators of forests, deputy conservators, divisional forest officers, conservators and chief conservators, and field directors of tiger reserves.The forest department has in its inventory pump-action 12 bore shotguns, 0.315 bore rifles, 0.32 bore revolvers and 12 bore double-barrel guns. While the 12 bore double-barrel guns and 0.315 bore rifles were procured in the 1980s and 90s, the pump-action shotguns, made by American firearms brand Mossberg, and the 0.32 bore revolvers were purchased in the early 2000s.The weapons have mostly caused more trouble for the department than prevented major forest crimes or saved staff’s lives. While taking on criminals and violators, many weapons have ended up being snatched or stolen. While the forest department procured the guns over the years, the state government was never clear on whether protection be accorded to them on the lines extended to the police and paramilitary under Section 218(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Simply put, this section provides for a magisterial inquest into an incident of firing before penal action is taken or an FIR registered against the user of the weapon in case of anyone suffering an injury in firing.Without this shield, every time forest staff would open fire on duty, injuring or killing someone, they would be booked by the police, sometimes even for murder. Like in 2022, forest staff had fired on tribal people in Lateri in Vidisha district, killing a youth and injuring three others. The range officer involved was booked for murder. In protest, foresters deposited their guns at the range office and refused to patrol until guaranteed protection under the law.Why did the protection accorded now take so many years to come? Those opposed to the idea suggest a distinction ought to be made between forest staff and police/paramilitary. Forest department staff, according to them, are not an arms-bearing uniformed force. Another major distinction is that the state police and paramilitary are armed with sophisticated weapons, including automatic and semi-automatic weapons that are chambered for prohibited bore calibers. This system from the British colonial times continues till date wherein the police, army and paramilitary use calibers not usually available with the public as licenced weapons. The ammunition for the same is usually not available in the market either.The forest department in Madhya Pradesh has armed itself with non-prohibited calibers, such as 12 bore, 0.315 bore and 0.32 bore ammunition and weapons, that are available with the citizenry. This, many believe, could make the weapons susceptible to misuse. Also, police and paramilitary have time-tested rules in place for issue of weapons and ammunition, which the forest department doesn’t yet. Each round is accounted for and cannot be replaced from the open market because it’s not available. The same cannot be said for calibers used by the forest department.However, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition on illegal sand mining, ruled on July 22 that protection under BNSS be extended to the forest department without delay. Illegal sand mining was the reason why a forest guard was killed in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh in April.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsPublished By: Shyam BalasubramanianPublished On: Aug 11, 2026 20:30 IST