India, Sept. 25 -- The Uttarakhand high court has expressed concern over the transfer of a forest officer to Rudraprayag district, observing that such actions should not be influenced by complaints from politicians.

A division bench of chief justice G. Narendar and justice Subhash Upadhyay made the remarks while hearing a petition on Wednesday filed by range forest officer of Nandprayag in Chamoli district Hemant Bisht, who has challenged his September 12 transfer order to Rudraprayag as stigmatic and arbitrary.

The bench questioned forest secretary C. Ravi Shankar, who said action against Bisht was taken due to lapses in work related to the forthcoming Nanda Devi Yatra, while a complaint by a Gram Pradhan was only "incidental."

The co...