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TMI Blog2021 (10) TMI 1447X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is not the case of any of the parties that the land, which was the subject matter of notification dated 11.10.1952, was subject to any general or special orders by the State to transfer the same in favor of Gaon Sabha and/or any other local authority. Therefore, the land comprising in notification dated 11.10.1952 unequivocally vests with the State. It is thereafter that a notification dated 23.11.1955 was published in respect of 162 acres of land situated in Kasmandi Khurd. Such notification describes the land with boundaries mentioned in the notification. Thereafter, another proclamation was published under Section 6 of the Forest Act in respect of 162 acres of land including 20 bighas 13 biswas and 10 biswansi of Khasra No. 1576 of Village Kasmandi Khurd. The notification under Section 4 of the Forest Act to declare any land as reserved forest could be issued if the State has proprietary rights over such land or if it is entitled to the produce thereof. The notification dated 23.11.1955 satisfies the three conditions mentioned in sub-section 4 i.e., (i) decision to constitute such land as reserved forest, (ii) situation and limits of such land, and (iii) appointing an officer t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... agreement in writing by a competent authority but no such agreement in writing has been produced. Therefore, the lessee would not be entitled to any right only on the basis of an entry in the revenue record. The order of the High Court cannot be sustained in law. The same is hereby set aside. The appeal is allowed. - HEMANT GUPTA AND V. RAMASUBRAMANIAN JJ. For the Appellant : Mr. Kamlendra Mishra, AOR For the Respondent : Mr. Naushad Ahmad Khan Adv. Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, AOR Mr. M.Z.Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Ali Safeer Farooqi, Adv. Mr. Syed Imtiyaz Ali, Adv. Ms. Manisha Chauhan, Adv. Mr. Harinder Mohan Singh, AOR JUDGMENT HEMANT GUPTA, J. 1. The challenge in the present appeal is to an order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on 30.11.2005 whereby the writ petition filed by the respondents For short, the lessees was allowed. 2. The High Court vide the impugned order has set aside the order dated 08.07.2004 passed by the Deputy Director of Consolidation, Lucknow, wherein, the revenue entry of Khasra Nos. 1576 and 1738 was ordered to be corrected in the name of Department of Forest and the claim of rival claimants were set aside. 3. A notification dated 11.10.1952 under S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Gazette, then, notwithstanding anything contained in any contract or document or in any other law for the time being in force and save as otherwise provided in this Act, the consequences as hereinafter set forth shall, from the beginning of the date of vesting, ensure in the area to which the notification relates, namely: (a) all rights, title and interest of all the intermediaries (i) in every estate in such area including land (cultivable or barren), groveland, forests whether within or outside village boundaries, trees (other than trees in village abadi, holding or grove), fisheries, tanks, ponds, waterchannels, ferries, pathways, abadi sites, hats, bazars and melas [other than hats, bazars and melas held upon land to which clauses (a) to (c) of sub-section (1) of Section 18 apply], and (ii) in all sub-soil in such estates including rights, if any, in mines and minerals, whether being worked or not, shall cease and be vested in the State of Uttar Pradesh free from all encumbrances; xx xx xx 5. It is thus contended that in terms of Section 4 of the Abolition Act, all rights, title and interest of all intermediaries including the forest had vested in the State of Uttar Pradesh. I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Commissioner, Lucknow Division empowered to receive objections against the order of Forest Settlement Officer under Section 17 of the Act. S.No. Name of Place Tehsil Pargana Area in Acres according to Gazette Area taken in Acres Details East West Of North Sides South 48 Kasmandi Khurd Malihabad Malihabad 162 - Amaniganj Banjar Bhumi and Agriculture field Railway line Banjar Bhumi Agriculture field Agriculture field and Canal Agriculture field 8. After the said notification, a proclamation under Section 6 of the Forest Act was carried out on 28.04.1968. The relevant extract of the proclamation after publication reads thus: Distt. Tehsil Pargana Village Area in Khasra No. Acres Area in Bigha Details of Boundaries Lucknow Malihabad Malihabad Kasmandi Khurd xxx xxx xxx 1576 20.13.10 xxx xxx xxx (57) 259 4.15 162 Acre North Araji Majruba South Sarhar Mauja Madhour Satwal Majruba East- Sadak West Sarhar Mauja Sindhwapur 9. The extract from the Indian Forest Act, 1927 relevant for the present appeal reads thus: 3. Power to reserve forests. - The State Government may constitute any forest-land or waste-land which is the property of Government or over which the Government has proprietary ri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ereinafter provided, will ensure on the reservation of such forest; and (c) fixing a period of not less than three months from the date of such proclamation, and requiring every person claiming any right mentioned in Section 4 or Section 5 within such period either to present to the Forest Settlement-officer a written notice specifying or to appear before him and state, the nature of such right and the amount and particulars of the compensation (if any) claimed in respect thereof. xxx xxx xxx 20. Notification declaring forest reserved. - (1) When the following events have occurred, namely: (a) the period fixed under Section 6 for preferring claims have elapsed and all claims if any made under that section or Section 9 have been disposed of by the Forest Settlement-officer; (b) if any such claims have been made, the period limited by Section 17 for appealing from the orders passed on such claims has elapsed, and all appeals (if any) presented within such period have been disposed of by the appellate officer or; Court and (c) all lands (if any) to be included in the proposed forest, which the Forest Settlement-officer has, under Section 11, elected to acquire under the Land Acquisiti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . 12. That a six yearly khatauni for the fasli year 1395 to 1400 was issued by which Khasra no. 1576 was transferred to the forest as a protected forest. The relevant extract from the khatauni reads thus: INTKHAB SIX YEARLY KHATAUNI VILLAGE KASMANDI KHURD, PARGANA AND TEHSIL, MALIHABAD, DISTT. LUCKNOW, YEAR 1395 TO 1400 Khatauni No. Name of Land owner Year of ownership Plot No. Area Illegible Information regarding change in ownership entered by any officer 1395, 1396, 1397, 1398, 1399, 1400 Category 5 Barren Land but can be made cultivable (Krishi Yogya Banjar) The land has been transferred according to the forest act as protected forest 881 Deptt. of Forest - 1576 20.13.10 13. The name of the lessee appears for the first time in the khatauni prepared for the year 1407 fasli till 1412 fasli wherein the possession of the lessee was recorded from 1394 fasli to 1395 fasli in respect of 12 bighas of land. Six Years Khatauni Intikhab Khatauni Village: Kasmandi Khurd Pargana and Tehsil Malihabad Distt. Lucknow Year : From 1407 Fasli year to till Fasli 1412 S.No. of khata Khatauni Name of Khatedar and Father s name Year start phical possession Khasra no. of each plot Area in Hec in bigha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ble entries to be omitted/cancelled. According the appeal is entitled to be allowed. Order Therefore on the basis of above analysis the appeal is hereby admitted. The order of Chakbandi Officer dated 22.7.93 and Astt. Bandobast Officer Chakbandi dated 28.2.2004 is hereby set aside. Plot No. 1576 of area DO/13/10 and Plot No. 1738 of area. 1 Bigha, plot no. 868/1830 of area 2-4-0 entry no. 881 in favour of Dept. of Forest and the claim of other land owners is hereby cancelled. Case file consigned to record room. 15. It is the said order which was set aside by the High Court in the writ petition filed by the lessees. 16. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the High Court has gravely erred in setting aside the order passed by the Deputy Director as there was no legal or factual basis to do so. The notification dated 11.10.1952 published in terms of Section 4 of the Abolition Act was to the effect that all estates situated in Uttar Pradesh shall vest in the State. The extent to which uncultivated land which not vests in Gaon Samaj was mentioned in Column 5 stating that 162 acres of Village Kasmandi Khurd would not vest in Gaon Samaj. Such notification has the effect that a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Forest Act bars that no right shall be acquired in or over the land comprised in notification under Section 4 of the Forest Act, except by succession or under a grant or contract in writing made or entered into by or on behalf of the Government. Once the notification dated 23.11.1955 was published under Section 4 of the Forest Act, there could not be any transfer of right in the land so notified in favour of the lessee by the Gaon Sabha. 20. It is thereafter, a proclamation was required to be issued under Section 6 of the Forest Act publishing in the local vernacular in every town and village specified, as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of the proposed forest. In the proclamation under Section 6 of the Forest Act, different khasra numbers have been specified including Khasra No. 1576. Such khasra number forms part of the total forest land declared under Section 4 of the Act measuring 162 acres. The proclamation of publication was published in the locality but none including the Gaon Sabha objected to the declaration of land as forest area. 21. Mr. Khan, learned counsel for the lessee and Mr. Hooda, learned counsel for the Gaon Sabha vehemently argued that the detail ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd under the Abolition Act, it was justified in issuing the notification under Section 4 of the Act. xx xx xx 10. It is thus obvious that the Forest Settlement Officer has the powers of a civil court and his order is subject to appeal and finally revision before the State Government. The Act is a complete code in itself and contains elaborate procedure for declaring and notifying a reserve forest. Once a notification under Section 20 of the Act declaring a land as reserve forest is published, then all the rights in the said land claimed by any person come to an end and are no longer available. The notification is binding on the consolidation authorities in the same way as a decree of a civil court. The respondents could very well file objections and claims including objection regarding the nature of the land before the Forest Settlement Officer. They did not file any objection or claim before the authorities in the proceedings under the Act. After the notification under Section 20 of the Act, the respondents could not have raised any objections qua the said notification before the consolidation authorities. The consolidation authorities were bound by the notification which had achi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ication under Section 4 no right shall be acquired in or over the land comprised in such notification, except by succession or under a grant or a contract in writing made or entered into by or on behalf of the Government or some person in whom such right was vested when the notification was issued; and no fresh clearings for cultivation or for any other purpose shall be made in such land, nor any tree therein felled, girdled, lopped, tapped, or burnt, or its bark or leaves stripped off, or the same otherwise damaged, nor any forest produce removed therefrom, except in accordance with such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf. 146. Section 5 clearly provides that after the issue of the notification under Section 4 no forest produce can be removed therefrom, except in accordance with such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf. The regulation by the State thus comes into operation after the issue of notification under Section 4 and thus the submission of the petitioners that since no final notification under Section 20 has been issued they cannot be regulated by the 1978 Rules cannot be accepted. 26. This Court in a judgment reported as Pra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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