Civil court jurisdiction excluded over notified forest land where the Forest Act provides a special mechanism for rights determination.

Where a special mechanism exists under Chapter II of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 for inquiry and determination of rights in notified forest land, civil court jurisdiction is excluded by necessary implication when the dispute concerns the applicability and extent of rights in that notified area. The court held that the forest notification and connected records brought the land within the statutory scheme, and the absence of individual Khasra numbers did not invalidate the notification where the boundaries were otherwise clearly described. The suit was therefore not maintainable in civil court, and the decrees of the courts below were set aside as beyond jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether the civil court's jurisdiction was barred in a suit concerning land notified as reserved forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.

Analysis: The land was found to fall within the area covered by the forest notification and related forest records. The statutory scheme under Chapter II of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 provides a special mechanism for inquiry and determination of rights in respect of notified forest land. Where such a forum exists, and the dispute concerns the very applicability and extent of rights in the notified forest area, the civil court's plenary jurisdiction is excluded by necessary implication. The statutory exclusion of civil jurisdiction must be strictly construed, but on the facts, the notification and connected proceedings were sufficient to attract the special forest machinery. The absence of individual Khasra numbers in the notification did not defeat its operation where the boundaries were otherwise intelligibly described.

Conclusion: The civil court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit, and the decree passed by the courts below could not stand.

Final Conclusion: The second appeal succeeded, and the judgments and decrees of the courts below were set aside as being beyond jurisdiction.

Ratio Decidendi: When a special statute creates a complete mechanism for determination of rights in notified forest land, civil court jurisdiction is excluded by necessary implication and must be determined on a strict construction of the statutory scheme and the notification issued under it.

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