SHANTABAI Vs. STATE OF BOMBAY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We have had the advantage of perusing the judgment prepared by our learned Brother Bose, J., which he will presently read. While we agree with him that this application must be dismissed, we would prefer to base our decision on reasons slightly different from those adopted by our learned Brother. The relevant facts will be found fully set out by him in his judgment.

(2.) The petitioner has come up before us on an application under Art. 32 of the Constitution praying for setting aside the order made by the Respondent No. 3 on 19th March 1956, directing the petitioner to stop the cutting of forest wood and for a writ, order or direction to the Respondents not to interfere in any manner whatever with the rights of the petitioner to enter the forests, appoint her agents, obtain renewal passes, manufacture charcoal and to exercise other rights mentioned in the petition.

(3.) Since the application is under Art. 32 of the Constitution, the petitioner must make out that there has been an infringement of some fundamental right claimed by her. The petitioner's grievance is that the offending order has infringed her fundamental right under Art. 19 (1) (f) and 19 (1) (g). She claims to have derived the fundamental rights, which are alleged to have been infringed, from a document dated 26th April 1948, whereby her husband Shri Balirambhau Doye, the proprietor of certain forests in eight several Tehsils, granted to her the right to take and appropriate all kinds of wood - building wood, fuel wood and bamboos, etc. - from the said forests for a period from the date of the document up to 26th December 1960. The terms of the document have been sufficiently set out in the judgment to be presently delivered by Bose J. and need not be set out here. The petitioner has paid Rs. 26,000 as consideration for the rights granted to her. The genuineness of this document and the good faith of the parties thereto have not been questioned. The document, however, has not been registered under the Indian Registration Act.