A.V. Varkey vs Collector of Nilgiris and Others

V. Ratnam, J.—In this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for the issue of a Writ of Prohibition prohibiting the respondents from

interfering with or dispossessing the petitioner from the lands now in his occupation. It is seen from the affidavit filed in support of the Writ Petition

that the petitioner has come into possession of the land under his occupation a long number of years back and has also spent substantial amounts in

improving the land and converting the same into plantation etc. The complaint of the petitioner is that the respondent, of late has been resorting to

summary dispossession of the petitioner from the lands in his occupation and that without conforming to the procedure laid down under Sections 6

and 7 of the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905, the petitioner cannot be dispossessed, even on the footing that the petitioner is an

encroacher. The petitioner has also prayed only for the limited relief viz., that if the petitioner is to be dispossessed from the lands on the ground

that he is an encroacher, it should be so done after affording the petitioner a reasonable opportunity in that regard after serving a notice on him. It is

now seen that under Tamil Nadu Act 41 of 1981, Section 68(A) has been introduced for the purpose of summarily evicting the persons who are in

unauthorised occupation of any land in reserved forest. That section provides that any person, who is unauthorisedly occupying any land in

reserved forest or any land at the disposal of the Government, may be summarily evicted by an officer of the Forest Department not below the

rank of Forest Ranger or an officer of the Revenue Department not below the rank of Tahsildar, having jurisdiction over the area in which such

land is situated, in such manner as may be prescribed. The section further enables the forfeiture of the crops on the land and even the building or

anything deposited thereon. The proviso to Section 68(A) states that no eviction or adjudication u/s 68(A) adversely affecting a person shall be

made or adjudged without giving such a person a notice in such manner as may be prescribed and without considering the representations, if any,

received in pursuance of such a notice. The rules framed styled as the Tamil Nadu Forest Lands (Eviction of Encroachments) Rules, 1981, also

provide for the issue of a notice and the taking of proceedings after the consideration of the representation, if any, made by the person in

occupation. Rule 2(1) enables the officer of the Forest Department, not below the rank of a Forest Ranger or an officer of the Revenue

Department, not below the rank of a Tahsildar, having jurisdiction over the area in which the said reserved forest or land is situated, to serve a

notice in the form prescribed in the annexure to the rules on the person unauthorisedly occupying the reserved forest or land to show cause, within

five days, as to why he should not be summarily evicted from such land and the property including standing crops and buildings and other

constructions standing thereon should not be forfeited. Rule 2(2) affords the person in occupation an opportunity to make representations in writing

to the Forest Ranger or Tahsildar, as the case may be, and only after considering the representation, the Forest Ranger or Tahsildar can proceed

to pass orders. The rule also provides for the granting of time to the person in occupation in case orders are passed to the effect that the

encroachment should be vacated. If, even after having been granted the time as prescribed under Rule 2(2), a person in unauthorised occupation of

the land fails to vacate the encroachment, only then, the Ranger or the Tahsildar, as the case may be, shall either by himself or by deputing

subordinate officers summarily evict him from the said, land and forfeit the property thereon. In view of the provisions contained in Section 68-A

and the rules referred to above, it is obvious that the petitioner in this Writ Petition cannot be summarily dispossessed without resorting to the

procedure indicated u/s 68-A and the rules framed thereunder. There will therefore, be a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to act strictly

in accordance with the provisions of Section 68-A of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act and the rules framed thereunder in the matter of the eviction of

the alleged encroachment by the petitioner. The rule nisi is made absolute to the extent indicated above and the Writ Petition is allowed. There will

be no order as to costs.