The Supreme Court on Friday refused to lift the night ban on vehicles plying through Bandipur Tiger Reserve, which links Mysuru to parts of Kerala.
A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu, orally observed that forests primarily belonged to animals and tribes who reside there and not to men who carve roads through them.
Evoking its 2013 ban on tourists taking the Andaman Nicobar Trunk Road that passes through Jarawa tribe habitats, the apex court said it could not be seen to be taking a contradictory stand now.
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The hearing came on an application by the Kerala government seeking a direction from the court to allow vehicles to move in a convoy through the reserve forest thrice during night-time.
The State had pleaded that the ban, operative from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., caused great suffering for passengers.