New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed its Feb. 13 order directing the eviction of lakhs of the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest-dwellers, whose claims for forest land rights have been rejected under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

The earlier order had created a possibility of eviction of 11.8 lakh tribals from forests across the country. The Apex Court, however, asked 21 States to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken on rejections of the tribals’ claims and if the due procedure was followed as mandated under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006.

The Bench, led by Justice Arun Mishra, emphasised that “the mighty and the undeserving,” who had encroached on forest lands, would be shown no mercy. It acknowledged the need to delve into whether due process had been followed by the Gram Sabhas and the State authorities under the FRA before the claims for forest rights of the forest dwellers were finally rejected.

A three-Judge Bench presided over by Justice Arun Mishra allowed a plea made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who said the Centre wanted to convene a meeting of States to find out if the tribals were informed of their rights of appeal or not, and if the States set up a review committee or not. The Bench, also comprising Justices Navin Sinha and M.R. Shah, questioned the Centre for “being in slumber” all this while.

“It is not our job to find out if proper procedure was followed or not. We can’t do all this. You go in slumber. When we passed our order, why you did not object,” the Bench asked Mehta and other counsel, representing States.

The Court pointed out that the eviction order was passed on Jan. 20, 2016 and the Feb. 13 order was just a follow up. Mehta said forest dwelling tribals are essential part of the forest and both have co-existed in the world over. The Court said the government has to be careful and ensure that nobody under the garb of being tribals was allowed to encroach upon the forest. It posted the matter for hearing on July 10.

The Union Government on Wednesday approached the Court for modification of the Feb. 13 order to 21 State Governments for eviction of lakhs of Forest Dwelling STs (FDSTs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) whose claims have been rejected under the Forest Rights Act.

“The FDSTs and OTFDs are extremely poor and illiterate people and not well informed of their rights and procedure under the Act. They live in remote and inaccessible areas of the forest. It is difficult for them to substantiate their claims before the competent authorities,” the Centre had said. The Top Court’s order has caused a huge furore with political parties asking the government to seek its review for its possible adverse impact.