No more night safaris: Why Rajasthan HC just banned drones and spotlights in Jawai Leopard Reserve

The Rajasthan High Court has prohibited night safaris, the use of drones and some other activities in the Jawai Leopard Reserve in Rajasthan's western Pali district. Hearing a PIL by Pali resident Apoorva Agrawat, a Bench of Justices Sandeep Shah and Pushpendra Singh Bhati has directed the state government to ensure that “no safari activities, including night safari or any activity for spotting or locating wildlife, shall be permitted beyond the period between 6 am to 7 pm”, noting that such time restrictions are being adopted by the court in line with the timings followed in Ranthambore National Park. The court also directed that any person found disturbing the animals “by use of torch lights, search lights, spotlights, drones, or any other similar means or devices” shall be prevented from doing so by the state government and the authorities concerned through adequate preventive and enforcement measures.

In its third directive, the court said that any instance of misconduct by safari vehicles, local hospitality personnel, or any other persons, involving disturbance, harassment, or interference with wildlife, “shall be promptly reported, and the persons responsible shall be dealt with expeditiously in accordance with law, by taking appropriate penal and regulatory action”. The court laid special emphasis on Article 48A of the Constitution (Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife), saying that the constitutional mandate “has consistently been interpreted by the Hon’ble Courts as forming the foundational ethos of environmental governance in India,” while also noting the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. In the court, Agrawat’s lawyer had urged urgent consideration of the issue "in view of the deteriorating conditions arising out of the unregulated activities, including rampant violation of ecological norms in the conduct of such activities,” demonstrating “that the harassment of wildlife is of such extent that night safaris are being conducted, wherein spotlights, torch lights and search lights are directed at the animals and their caves Furthermore, drones are being deployed to locate the animals, thereby disturbing them even during dusk hours and causing stress to the wildlife.”

While issuing the orders earlier this week, the court noted that if one were to conduct a simple search for “leopard country, the expectation may well be to locate a distant land marked on the world map. Yet, the search yields a surprising reality; it points not to a country, but to a modest region in western Rajasthan known as Jawai.” It said that despite its ecological uniqueness and increasing global recognition, the Jawai region “continues to remain outside the protective framework of a formally notified wildlife sanctuary or national park.

This regulatory vacuum renders its biodiversity vulnerable and undermines long-term conservation efforts.” The bench in HC's principal seat in Jodhpur said that the delicate balance of coexistence in Jawai “now stands imperilled”.

“The increasing footprint of unregulated development, manifested in expanding tourism infrastructure, habitat disturbance, has begun to encroach upon this shared ecological space. Commercial exploitation, often operating within regulatory gaps, has altered the natural landscape, placing both the leopard population and the traditional lifestyle of local communities at risk,” it said. Listing the case for April 20, the court said that other measures shall be contemplated by the court on the next date of hearing after the reply is filed by the respondents.