The Supreme Court recently ruled that forest lands cannot be used for non-forestry purposes, including agriculture. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said, “Granting permission to cultivate the forest land would essentially require clearing of forest and such a course of action is in the teeth of Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 which precludes de-reservation or use of forest land for non-forestry purposes without prior approval of the Central government.” The court upheld an appeal by the Karnataka government against Gandhi Jeevan Collective Farming Cooperative Society. The society had been illegally given a lease on 134 acres of forest land for cultivation and sought its extension. Justice Mehta, authoring the judgment, directed the state to repopulate the area with indigenous trees. The court stated, “The cooperative society, having enjoyed cultivatory possession over the forest area for a period of more than 10 years, was not entitled for any further extension of the lease which was in the first place illegally granted. As per the extant statutes, forest lands could not be allowed to be used for non-forestry purposes, which would include agriculture.” The Karnataka government had declared that the lands belonged to and were possessed by the State Forest Department. The bench reminded that a 2000 judgment prohibited de-reservation of forests or sanctuaries without Supreme Court permission.