SUKHCHAIN SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND & OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, by means of present criminal writ petition moved under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeks to issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the impugned orders dated 13.05.2015 and 01.04.2015, passed by respondent no. 2 and respondent no. 3 respectively.

(2.) As per challani report one tractor-trolley bearing registration no. UK06 N / 4972 was found carrying illegal mining from the forest area on 17.01.2015, at 07:05 A.M by a team comprising of forest officials, police officials and revenue officials. Accordingly, the tractor-trolley was seized. The same was confiscated by the Divisional Forest Officer, West Tarai Forest Division, Ramnagar under Section 52A of the Indian Forest Act (Uttarakhand amendment 2001), vide order dated 01.04.2015. An appeal was preferred before the Conservator of Forests, Haldwani against the same. The Appellate Authority / Conservator of Forests, Western Circle, Uttarakhand, Haldwani dismissed the appeal no. 04 of 2015-16. Aggrieved against the same, present criminal writ petition has been filed on behalf of the writ petitioner.

(3.) When the present criminal writ petition was taken up for hearing on 27.05.2015, following interim order was passed by the co-ordinate bench of this Court: