SHYAMRAO KEWALRAM KAPGATGE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the learned Advocate for the petitioners and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondents.

(2.) THE petitioners challenge the order passed by the Authorised Officer and confirmed by the Additional Sessions Judge in relation to the tractor and trolley which was seized by the Forest Officer in exercise of powers under section 52 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (hereinafter to be referred to as "the Act" ). The challenge is on two grounds, namely, that the transportation of firewood and the timber through the vehicle of the petitioners was under the bonafide belief that the same is being transported pursuant to the issuance of necessary transit pass and secondly, that the respondents themselves had admitted before the Magistrate that the wood transported through the vehicle of the petitioners was not from the Government land but it was from the private land.

(3.) FEW facts relevant for the decision are that on 22-4-1988 the vehicle of the petitioner driven by himself was intercepted near village Kooba within the district of Bhandara, by the patrolling party of the forest department and was found transporting firewood and four logs of teak wood through the trolley attached to the tractor without having any transit pass for transportation of the same and, therefore, under the reasonable belief that the same is a forest offence, the said vehicle, i. e. the tractor with the trolley along with the firewood and the teak logs was seized by the Forest Officer under section 52 of the said Act. The petitioners thereupon filed an application before the Judicial magistrate, First Class, Sakoli for release of the said vehicle along with the trolley and the same was allowed by the J. M. F. C. by his order dated 24-4-1988. It appears that the effort on the part of the respondents to get the said order set aside did not yield fruitful result and ultimately the vehicle was released in favour of the petitioners. Meanwhile, the Forest Officer in exercise of powers under section 61-A of the said Act directed the seized materials along with the said vehicle to be confiscated by his order dated 20-6-1988 holding that the petitioners had contravened the provisions of law under section 41 read with section 26 (l) (f) and section 33 (l) (a) of the Indian Forest Act. The tractor bears the Registration No. MGU/39 and the trolley attached to it bears Registration No. BYY/2276. The said order was passed on 20-6-1988. Being dissatisfied, the petitioners preferred appeal under section 61-D of the act before the Sessions Judge, Bhandara which came to be heard and disposed of by the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Bhandara by judgment and order dated 10-5-1990 whereby the appeal was dismissed and the order of confiscation passed by the Authorised Officer was confirmed mainly on the ground that the petitioners were found transporting teak-wood logs through the trolley attached to the vehicle without having transit pass.