Subur Uddin and 2 Ors v. The State of Assam and 10 Ors

ORDER Date : 09-05-2024

¶1Heard Mr. S.B. Laskar, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. D. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel, Forest Department and Ms. S. Barua, learned Government Advocate for the State respondent.

¶2By filing the instant writ petition, the petitioners are challenging the notices dated Nil issued by the respondent Nos. 5 and 6, i.e. Forest Range Officer, Lakhipur & Goalpara Forest Range, whereby the petitioners were directed to vacate their land within 31st December, 2017.

¶3The case of the petitioners is that the petitioners were living in the subject land from time immemorial in the house constructed by their ancestor along with cultivable land. By issuing the impugned notice the Range Forest Officer, Goalpara Forest Range has alleged that the subject land has been illegally occupying, which is Reserved Forest Land / Proposed Reserved Forest Land of the Forest Department. It further appears that there has been a direction to vacate the land within 31st December, 2017. Against the aforesaid notice, the petitioners who have been staying in the subject land where their ancestors have built and constructed house and cultivating paddy etc. have filed the instant writ petition. It appears that this Court by order dated 20.12.2017, while Page No.# 4/6 issuing notice was pleased to grant in the interim that the petitioners should not be dispossessed from the occupying area in the Proposed Reserved Forest.

¶4Heard the parties at length.

¶5Relevant regulation pertaining to Reserved Forest of Chapter 2 of the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891 are reproduced hereunder for ready reference. "6. Proclamation by Forest-settlement-officer-When a notification has been published under Section 5, the Forest-settlement-officer shall publish in the language of the country, at the headquarters of each district and subdivision in which any portion of the land comprised in such notification is situate, and in every town and village in the neighbourhood of such land, a proclamation-

(a) specifying, as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of the proposed forest;

(b) setting forth the substance of the provisions of the next following section;

(c) explaining the consequences which, as hereinafter provided, will ensue on the reservation of such forest, and

(d) fixing a period of not less than three months from the date of publication of such proclamation and requiring every person claiming any right or making any claim referred to or mentioned in Section 5 either to present to such officer within such period a written notice specifying or to appear before him within such period and state the nature of such right or claim.

¶7Bar of accrual forest rights after proclamation- (1) During the interval between the publication of such proclamation and the date fixed by the notification declaring the forest to be reserved as hereinafter provided, no right shall be acquired in or over the land comprised in such notification, except by succession or under a grant or contract in writing made or entered into by or on behalf of, the Government or some persons in whom such right or power to create such right was vested when the proclamation was published; and on such land no new house shall be built or plantation formed, no fresh clearings for cultivation or for any other purpose shall be made, and no trees shall be cut for the purpose of trade or manufacture except as hereinafter provided.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit any act done with the permission in writing of the Forest-settlement-officer, or any clearings lawfully made for jhum-cultivation by persons in the habit of practising such cultivation on such land.

¶8Inquiry by Forest-settlement-officer- (1) The Forest-settlement-officer shall take down in writing all statements made under Section 6, and shall inquire into all claims made under that section and the existence of any right or practice mentioned in Section 5 in respect of Page No.# 5/6 which no claim is made.

(2) The Forest-settlement-officer shall at the same time consider and record any objection which the Forest-officer, if any, appointed under Section 5 to assist him, may make to any such claim or with respect to the existence of any such right or practice."

¶6Regulation 8 of the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891 provides that a Forest Settlement Officer shall inquire as regards the claims made by the affected land owner.

¶7It appears from the aforesaid provision of law that upon notification being published u/s 5 proclaiming the subject land as Proposed Reserved Forest, the Forest Settlement Officer has power under Regulation 8 to make inquiry, if any claim is made u/s 6. In the instant case it appears that the subject land of the petitioners have been proclaimed to be Proposed Forest Reserve Land. The petitioners having raised a dispute as regards the nature of the land, the claim of the petitioners is entitled to be enquired by the Forest Settlement Officer u/s

8.

¶8Mr. D. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel, Forest Department fairly concedes to the aforesaid proposition.

¶9In view of the aforesaid, this Court is of the considered view that this writ petition can be disposed of with a direction to the petitioners to file respective claim before the jurisdictional Forest Settlement Officer and as and when such claim is made before the Forest Settlement Officer, the same shall be considered in accordance with law within a period of 3(three) months from the date of receipt of the respective claims.

¶10Needless to clarify that if such claim is filed within a period of 15 (fifteen) days from today, the interim order passed by order dated 20.12.2017 shall continue till disposal of the claim by the jurisdictional Forest Settlement Officer. Page No.# 6/6

¶11The Forest Authority shall be at liberty as granted earlier by this Court by order dated 20.12.2017 to invite claims and objections u/s 6 of the Regulation and complete the process for proclamation of the reserved forest.

¶12With the above observations and directions, the instant writ petition stands disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/6 GAHC010059942017 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/8058/2017o SUBURoUDDINoando2oORSo S/O-LToNAYEBoALIoSKoR/O-oVILL-oBHALUKDHUBI,oP.O.oBHALUKDHUBI,oP.S. andoDIST-GOALPARA,oASSAMo 2:oLOKMANoHUSSAIN oS/O-oSOBAHANoALIoR/O-VILL-NIDANPURoPART-II oP.O.oandoP.S.oandoLAKHIPUR oDIST-oGOALPARA oASSAM 3:oAZAHARULoISLAM oS/O-LToHAYAToALIoSORKER oAGEDoABOUTo45oYRSoR/O-oVILL-KUMRIPARA oP.S.oandoDIST-GOALPARo VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoando10oORSo TOoBEoREPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCHIEFoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFo ASSAM,oFORESToDEPTT.,oDISPUR,oGHY-6 2:THEoSECRETARY oTOoTHEoGOVToOFoASSAM oFORESToDEPTT. oDISPUR oGHY-6 3:PRINCIPALoCHIEFoCONSERVATORoOFoFOREST oANDoHEADoOFoTHEoFORESToFORCE oASSAM oPANJABARI oGHY-37 4:DEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER Page No.# 2/6 GOALPARA P.O. and DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783101 5:DIVISIONAL FOREST OFFICER GOALPARA FOREST DIVISION P.O. BALADMARI PS and DIST-GOALPARA PIN-783121 6:RANGE FOREST OFFICER LAKHIPUR P.O. and PS LAKHIPUR DIST-GOALPARA DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783129 7:RANGE FOREST OFFICER GOALPARA RANGE P.O. BALADMARI and PS and DIST- GOALPARA PIN-783121 8:THE CIRCLE OFFICER BALIJANA CIRCLE PO BALADMARI P.S. and DIST- GOALPARA PIN-7831218 9:THE CIRCLE OFFICER LAKHIPUR P.O. and DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783129 10:THE CIRCLE OFFICER MATIA CIRCLE P.O. and P.S. MATIA DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783125 11:DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GOALPARA P.O. and DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-78310 Page No.# 3/6 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR.D HUSSAIN Advocate for the Respondent : MR. P N GOSWAMI (SC, FOREST DEPARTMENT) BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KAUSHIK GOSWAMI