NARINDER SINGH Vs. DIVESH BHUTANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The broad issue involved in these appeals and writ petitions is "Whether a land covered under a special order issued by the Government of Haryana under Sec. 4 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 (for short, 'PLPA') is a 'forest land' within the meaning of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (for short, 'the 1980 Forest Act')?"

(2.) Civil Appeal No.10294 of 2013, Civil Appeal No.8454 of 2014, Civil Appeal No.8173 of 2016 and Civil Appeal No.11000 of 2013 take exception to the orders passed by the National Green Tribunal (for short, 'the NGT').

(3.) Civil Appeal No.10294 of 2013 takes exception to the order dtd. 3/5/2013 passed by the NGT in Original Application No.42 of 2013. The said application was filed for inviting the attention of the NGT to the illegal non-forest activities of the encroachers on the lands bearing Khasra Nos.1359, 1374 and 1378 of Village Anangpur Tehsil Ballabhgarh, District Faridabad in the State of Haryana. The NGT passed the impugned order restraining the carrying on of any non-forest activities on the subject lands. The NGT proceeded on the footing that the lands at village Anangpur covered by the order dtd. 18/8/1992 issued under Sec. 4 of PLPA were forest lands within the meaning of the 1980 Forest Act. Before the said order dtd. 18/8/1992 was passed, a notification dtd. 10/4/1992 under Sec. 3 of PLPA was issued notifying the entire area covered by Ballabhgarh Tehsil of Faridabad District. The appellants are running marriage halls on the land subject matter of the said order dtd. 18/8/1992, issued under Sec. 4 of PLPA.