Lawgist61Saving of power to release property seized
Nothing hereinbefore contained shall be deemed to prevent any officer empowered in this behalf by the 1[State Government] from directing at any time the immediate release of any property seized under section 52.
STATE AMENDMENT
Maharashtra
Amendment of section 61A of Act XVI of 1927.--In section 61A of the principal Act,--
(a) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted:--
(3) Where any timber, sandalwood, firewood, charcoal or any other notified forest-produce, which is the property of the State Government, is seized under sub-section (1) of section 52, or any such forest-produce is produced before any authorised officer under sub-section (1) and he is satisfied that a forest-offence has been committed in respect of such forest-produce, notwithstanding whether or not a prosecution is instituted for the commission of such offence, such authorised officer shall order the forest-produce so seized to be taken charge of by a Forest-officer, and may order confiscation of all tools, boats, vehicles and cattles used in committing such offence.;
(b) in sub-section (4),--
(i) for clause (a), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:--
(a) where the authorised officer, after passing an order of confiscation under sub-section (3), is of the opinion that it is expedient in the public interest so to do, he may order sale of all confiscated tools, boats, vehicles and cattles.;
(ii) in clause (b),--
(1) the words property or the shall be deleted;
(2) for the word auction the word sale shall be substituted.
[Vide Maharashtra Act 21 of 2015, s. 10].
Amendment of section 61B of Act 16 of 1927.--In section 61B of the principal Act,--
(a) in sub-section (1), the words any timber, sandalwood, firewood, charcoal or any other notified forest-produce, shall be deleted;
(b) after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be added, namely:--
(3) When the offender or the owner of any tool, boat, vehicle or cattle seized under, sub-section (1) of section 52 is not known or cannot to found, and the authorised officer is satisfied that the same has been used in committing a forest-offence in respect of timber, fire-wood, sandalwood, charcoal or any other notified forest-produce which is the property of the State Government, notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions, the authorised officer may pass order in accordance with the provisions contained in section 61A:
Provided that, no such order shall be made until the expiration of a period of thirty days form the date of seizing such property or without hearing the person claiming any right thereto..
[Vide Maharashtra Act 21 of 2015, s. 11].
Substitution of section 61F of Act 16 of 1927.--For section 61F of the principal Act, the following section shall substituted, namely:--
61F. Property etc. confiscated when to vest in Government.--When an order for confiscation of any property has been passed under section 61A or section 61C, and the period of limitation provided by section 61D for filing an appeal against such order has elapsed, and no such appeal has been preferred or when on such an appeal being preferred, the Appellate Court confirms such order in respect, of the whole or a portion of such property, such property of such portion thereof, or if it has been sold under section 58 or under clause (a) of sub-section (4) of section 61A, the sale proceeds thereof, as the case may be, shall vest in the State Government free from all encumbrances..
[Vide Maharashtra Act 21 of 2015, s. 12].
Amendment of section 61G of Act 16 of 1927.--In section 61G of the principal Act, for the word offence the words forest-offence in respect of such property shall be substituted.
[Vide Maharashtra Act 21 of 2015, s. 13].
Uttar Pradesh
Insertion of new sections 61-B and 61-C--After section 61-A of the principal Act, the following sections shall be inserted namely:--
"61-B. Summary eviction of unauthorised occupants--(1) If a Forest Officer, not below the rank of a Divisional Forest officer, is of the opinion that any person is in unauthorised occupation of any land in areas constituted as a reserved or protected forest under section 20 or section 29 as the cases may be, and that he should be evicted, the Forest Officer shall issue a notice in writing calling upon the person concerned to show cause, on or before such date as is specified in the notice, why an order of eviction should not be made.
(2) If after considering the cause, if any, shown in pursuance of a notice under this section, the Forest Officer is satisfied that the said land is in unauthorised occupation he may make an order of eviction for reasons to be recorded therein, directing that the said land shall be vacated by such date, as may be specified in the order, by the person concerned, which shall not be less than ten days from the date of the order.
(3) If any person refuses or fails to comply with the order of eviction by the date specified in the order, the Forest Officer who made the order under sub-section (2) or any other Forest Officer, duly authorised by him in this behalf, may evict that person from and take possession of the said land and may, for this purpose, use such force as may be necessary.
(4) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Forest Officer under sub-section (2) may, within such period and in such manner as may be prescribed, appeal against such order to the Conservator of Forests of the circle or to such officer as may be authorised by the State Government in this behalf and the order of the Forest Officer shall, subject to the decision in such appeal, be final.
61-C. Disposal of Property left on land by unauthorised occupant--(1) Where any person has been evicted from any land under section 61-B, the Forest Officer may, after giving not less than ten days notice to the person from whom possession of the land has been taken, remove or cause to be removed or dispose of, by public auction, any property remaining on such land including any material of a demolished building or standing crop.
(2) Where any property is sold under sub-section (1) the sale proceeds thereof shall, after deducting the expenses of the sale and the expenses necessary to restore the land to its original condition, be paid to the person concerned."]
[Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 1 of 2001, s. 13]
Addition of new section 61-A--After section 61 of the principal Act, the following new section shall be added, namely--
61-A. Summary eviction of persons convicted of certain offences.--Where a Court convicts any person of an offencesunder clause (a), clause (b) or clause (h) of sub-section (1) of section 26 of clause (c) or clause (h) of sub-section (1) of section 33, it may, when passing judgment, direct the eviction of such person from any land in respect of which the offence has been committed.
(2) Any court of appeal or or revision may direct any order under sub-section (1) passed by a Court subordinate there to be stayed pending consideration by the former Court and may modify, alter or annul such order."
[Vide Uttar Pradesh Act XXIII of 1965, s. 14]
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1. Subs.,ibid.,for "Provincial Government".
- 1 Short title and extent
- 2 Interpretation clause
- 3 Power to reserve forests
- 4 Notification by State Government
- 5 Bar of accrual of forest-rights
- 6 Proclamation by Forest Settlement-officer
- 7 Inquiry by Forest Settlement-officer
- 8 Powers of Forest Settlement-officer
- 9 Extinction of rights
- 10 Treatment of claims relating to practice of shifting cultivation
- 11 Power to acquire land over which right is claimed
- 12 Order on claims to rights of pasture or to forest-produce
- 13 Record to be made by Forest Settlement-officer
- 14 Record where he admits claim
- 15 Exercise of rights admitted
- 16 Commutation of rights
- 17 Appeal from order passed under section 11, section 12, section 15 or section 16
- 18 Appeal under section 17
- 19 Pleaders
- 20 Notification declaring forest reserved
- 21 Publication of translation of such notification in neighbourhood of forest
- 22 Power to revise arrangement made under section 15 or section 18
- 23 No right acquired over reserved forest, except as here provided
- 24 Rights not to be alienated without sanction
- 25 Power to stop ways and water-courses in reserved forests
- 26 Acts prohibited in such forests
- 27 Power to declare forest no longer reserved
- 28 Formation of village-forests
- 29 Protected forests
- 30 Power to issue notification reserving trees, etc
- 31 Publication of translation of such notification in neighbourhood
- 32 Power to make rules for protected forests
- 33 Penalties for acts in contravention of notification under section 30 or of rules under section 32
- 34 Nothing in this Chapter to prohibit acts done in certain cases
- 35 Protection of forests for special purposes
- 36 Power to assume management of forests
- 37 Expropriation of forests in certain cases
- 38 Protection of forests at request of owners
- 39 Power to impose duty on timber and other forest-produce
- 40 Limit not to apply to purchase-money or royalty
- 41 Power to make rules to regulate transit of forest-produce
- 41A Powers of Central Government as to movements of timber across customs frontiers
- 42 Penalty for breach of rules made under section 41
- 43 Governments and Forest-officers not liable for damage to forest-produce at depot
- 44 All persons bound to aid in case of accident at depot
- 45 Certain kinds of timber to be deemed property of Government until title thereto proved, and may be collected accordingly
- 46 Notice to claimants of drift-timber
- 47 Procedure on claim preferred to such timber
- 48 Disposal of unclaimed timber
- 49 Government and its officers not liable for damage to such timber
- 50 Payments to be made by claimant before timber is delivered to him
- 51 Power to make rules and prescribe penalties
- 52 Seizure of property liable to confiscation
- 53 Power to release property seized under section 52
- 54 Procedure thereupon
- 55 Forest-produce, tools, etc., when liable to confiscation
- 56 Disposal, on conclusion of trial for forest-offence, of produce in respect of which it was committed
- 57 Procedure when offender not known, or cannot be found
- 58 Procedure as to perishable property seized under section 52
- 59 Appeal from orders under section .55, section 56 or section 57
- 60 Property when to vest in Government
- 61 Saving of power to release property seized
- 62 Punishment for wrongful seizure
- 63 Penalty for counterfeiting or defacing marks on trees and timber and for altering boundary-marks
- 64 Power to arrest without warrant
- 65 Power to release on a bond a person arrested
- 66 Power to prevent commission of offence
- 67 Power to try offences summarily
- 68 Power to compound offences
- 69 Presumption that forest-produce belongs to Government
- 70 Cattle-trespass Act, 1871, to apply
- 71 Power to alter fines fixed under that Act
- 72 State Government may invest Forest-officers with certain powers
- 73 Forest-officers deemed public servants
- 74 Indemnity for acts done in good faith
- 75 Forest-officers not to trade
- 76 Additional powers to make rules
- 77 Penalties for breach of rules
- 78 Rules when to have force of law
- 79 Persons bound to assist Forest-officers and police-officers
- 80 Management of forests the joint property of Government and other persons
- 81 Failure to perform service for which a share in produce of Government forest is enjoyed
- 82 Recovery of money due to Government
- 83 Lien on forest-produce for such money
- 84 Land required under this Act to be deemed to be needed for a public purpose under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894
- 85 Recovery of penalties due under bond
- 85A Saving for rights of Central Government
- 86 [Repealed.]
