Appealable order under forest law: a conclusive claim determination after enquiry can be appealed even before final formal award.

The expression "order" in Section 13 of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Act, 1967 is broad enough to cover a conclusive determination made by the Forest Settlement Officer under Sections 10 and 11. A communication is not mere correspondence where it records completion of enquiry, appraisal of evidence, and a definitive finding that the claims are genuine and should be allowed, even if a further formal award or prior approval under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 is still awaited. Such a determination has an adjudicatory character and is appealable. A party that has itself treated the communication as adverse and pursued the statutory appeal cannot later dispute the maintainability of that appeal.

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Issues: Whether the Forest Settlement Officer's letter recording that the claimants' claims were established and deserved to be admitted and allowed constituted an order under Section 13 of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Act, 1967 so as to permit an appeal to the District Judge.

Analysis: The expression "order" in Section 13 was held to be wide enough to include every decision or determination made under Sections 10 and 11. The letter was not a mere correspondence; it recorded a completed enquiry, appreciation of evidence, and a definitive finding that the claims were genuine and had to be allowed, with exclusion of the patta lands from the proposed forest block. The fact that the officer awaited prior approval under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 before issuing a final formal award did not detract from the adjudicatory character of the determination already made. The appellant, having itself treated the letter as an adverse decision and pursued the statutory appeal, could not later challenge the maintainability of that appeal.

Conclusion: The letter amounted to an appealable order under Section 13, and the appeal before the District Judge was maintainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory authority conclusively determines claims after enquiry and records findings on merits, the communication embodying that determination is an appealable order even if a further formal step remains before issuance of the final award.

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