TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (10) TMI 1447
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....4 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 For short, the 'Abolition Act' was published in U.P. Gazette dated 18.10.1952 to the effect that an area of 162 acres in Village Kasmandi Khurd shall not vest with the Gaon Samaj. The relevant extract of the notification reads thus: "No. 617 xIV- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 117 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 (U.P. Act 1 of 1951), the Governor is pleased to declare that as from the first day of November, 1952- 1. All land, whether cultivable or otherwise except land for the time being comprised in any holding or grove, and 2. All the forest within the village boundaries. Situate in a circle, which have vested in the state under the said Act, shall, subject to the exceptions shown in Schedules land I and II hereto, vest in the Gaon Samaj established for the Circle. Schedule I Particulars of uncultivated land and the extent to which they shall not vest in Gaon Samajs District Tahsil Pargana Village Extent to which the uncultivated land (to be demarcated shall not vest) 1 2 3 4 5 Lucknow ....
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.... 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. In terms of Section 117 of the Abolition Act, the land of the forest can vest in the Gaon Sabha or any other local authority by a general or special order of the Government. Section 117 of the Abolition Act reads as: "117. Vesting of certain lands etc., in Gaon Sabhas and other local authorities.- 1) At any time after the publication of the notification referred to in Section 4, the State Government may, by general or special orders to be published in the manner prescribed declare that as from a date to be specified in this behalf, all or any of the following things, namely: (i) lands, whether cultivable or otherwise, except lands for the time being comprised in any holding or grove; (ii) forests; (iii) trees, other than trees in a holding or on the boundary of a holding or in grove or a abadi; (iv) fisheries; (v) hats, bazars and melas except hats, bazars and melas held on lands to which the provisions of Clauses (a) to (c) of sub-section (1) o....
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....lihabad 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 rights, or to the whole or any part of the forest-produce of which the Government is entitled, a reserved forest in the manner hereinafter provided. 4. Notification by State Government. - (1) Whenever it has been decided to constitute any land a reserved forest, the State Government shall issue a notification in the Official Gazette- (a) declaring that it has been decided to constitute such land a reserved forest; ....
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....pecifying 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 Acquisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894), have become vested in the Government under Section 16 of that Act, the State Government shall publish a notification in the Official Gazette, specifying definitely, according to boundary-marks erected or otherwise, the limits of the forest which i....
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.... 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 Fas....
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....nd had deleted their name without any reasons and had got the land in question in favour of the land owners. The above act of the officers is punishable offence as it causes damage to Govt. property. In my opinion action to be taken against them according to law. The disputed plot has been notified in the name of Dept. of Forest and the entry no. 88 to such effect has to be continued with without any interference and double 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 D....
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....ature and extent of any rights alleged to exist in favour of any person in or over any land comprised within such limits. The lessees were not in possession of any part of the land at the time of issuance of such notification under Section 4 on 23.11.1955. Therefore, they have rightly not claimed any right over the property nor the Gaon Sabha has claimed any right in the land measuring 162 acres notified under Section 4 of the Act. 19. Section 5 of the 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,....
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....notification under Section 20 of the Forest Act. The Court held as under: "7. It is thus obvious that a person who was holding the land as Sirdar was not vested with proprietary rights under the Abolition Act. He was a tenure-holder and the proprietary rights vested with the State. The High Court, therefore, fell into patent error in assuming that by virtue of their status as Sirdars the respondents were proprietors of the land. The State being the proprietor of the land 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....
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....been issued under Section 20 of the 1927 Act the land covered by a notification issued under Section 4 cannot be regarded as forest so as to levy transit fee on the forest produce transiting through that area. With reference to the above submission, it is sufficient to notice Section 5 as inserted by Uttar Pradesh Act 23 of 1965 with effect from 25-11-1965. By the aforesaid U.P. Act 23 of 1965 Section 5 has been substituted to the following effect: "5. Bar of accrual of forest rights.-After the issue of the notification 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. S....