Kerala first state to amend central wildlife law: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that Kerala has become the first state to pass a Bill amending the Central Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The Kerala Assembly on Wednesday passed the Bill with the objective of reducing the growing incidence of human-animal conflict in the state.
The CM, in a post on social media platform 'X' on Thursday, said that the passing of the Kerala Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill marks a major step towards addressing rising human-animal conflicts and ensuring justice for forest-edge communities.
"These reforms reaffirm Kerala’s commitment to safeguarding both human life and wildlife, fostering harmony between people and nature," he said in the post.
Kerala has become the first state to pass a Bill amending the Central Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The Kerala Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill, along with the Forest Amendment Bill, marks a major step towards addressing rising human-animal conflicts and ensuring justice for…
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) October 9, 2025
The Bill will be sent to the Raj Bhavan, which will refer it to the President as it concerns a Central law, according to official sources.
The Bill was introduced in the Assembly last month.
State Forest Minister A K Saseendran had a day ago informed the Assembly that the government had been compelled to come up with its own amendment to the Central Act, as repeated requests to the Centre for timely changes had met with no success.
He had said that human-animal conflict is an issue directly affecting the lives of one-third of the state's population.
The minister had also said that the main objectives of the amendment bill are to get the authority to declare wildlife as vermin and to ensure freedom for the state government to intervene during necessary situations.
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SC takes cognisance of NCERT class 8 chapter on corruption in judiciary
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the contents of the class 8 NCERT textbook referring to corruption in the judiciary and termed it a matter of "grave concern."
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that "children of class 8 are taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is a matter of grave concern."
The CJI said, "I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course."
He added, "As head of the institution, I have done my duty and have taken cognisance … This seems to be a calculated move. I won't say much."
Justice Bagchi said the book seemed to be against the basic structure of the Constitution.
The CJI said, "Please wait for a few days. Bar and Bench all are perturbed. All high court judges are perturbed. I will take up the matter suo motu. I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course."
Later, Justice Kant said that the top court has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.
Corruption, massive backlog of cases, and lack of an adequate number of judges are among the "challenges" faced by the judicial system, according to the new social science NCERT textbook for class 8.
The section "corruption in the judiciary" in the new book states that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court, but also how they conduct themselves outside it.
