Dharamshala, June 28 -- The Himachal Pradesh high court, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning alleged large-scale illegal tree felling and smuggling of forest produce from Gagret tehsil in Una district, has directed the divisional forest officer, Una, to file a detailed affidavit, and the secretary, District State Legal Services Authority (DSLA), Una, to make periodic visits to the Gagret forest check-post and file an independent status report. The order was passed by the division bench comprising chief justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Bipin C Negi upon a communication received on March 8 2026, accompanied by GPS-tagged photographs showing small and large trucks loaded with cut trees from the forests of Tehsil Gagret, Una. The complainant had earlier approached the concerned department but received no action, and it was alleged that the persons who made the video were threatened with registration of an FIR against them. The bench noted that the office of the deputy commissioner communicated that an FIR has been registered under the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the user of a mobile number and administrators of an associated social media page for allegedly manufacturing public mischief. It has been admitted that the forest check post at Gagret on NH-03, located on the Himachal Pradesh-Punjab inter-state border, is a major transit point for movement of forest produce, and that the GPS-tagged photographs depict vehicles crossing between 5.18 am and 6.40 am on February 28, 2026 and March 2, 2026, stated to be transporting legally permitted forest produce to the Hoshiarpur timber market. While 69 vehicles were checked and permitted to proceed after verification of transit permits, it has been admitted that 149 vehicles are involved in illegal transportation of forest produce, with 102 vehicles in Amb Range alone transporting unauthorised forest produce, and 15 vehicles apprehended by the dehra forest division within their jurisdiction. The court observed that there is nothing on record to show that the FIR registered contains any details as to how much forest produce is being taken out of Himachal Pradesh, the volume of vehicle movement/ the alleged species of trees being branded as permitted. The matter has been listed for further consideration on July 13, 2026....