BARKAT Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Art.226 of the Constitution of India filed by 16 petitioners who are adivasis and residents of forest village Chainpura in the reserved forest area and who are engaged in rearing and grazing cattle. The petitioners have challenged the action of the respondents whereby the petitioners have been restrained from making collection of "Gobar" (dung) excreted by the cattle, grazed by them and moving the collected quantity of such excrement of domestic cattle from the reserved forest for disposing of the same.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioners that they have been carrying on the job of collection of excrement dropped by the cattle while grazing in the reserved forest area where the petitioners were permitted to graze the cattle since generations and that never before they were prevented from making the collection of the dung and disposing of the same as manure. The activity of collection and sale of the dung constituted a means of their livelihood.

(3.) As per the return filed on behalf of the respondent No. 2 (The District Forest Officer, Khargone), the petitioners and others had collected 48 heaps of Gobar (dung) in forest compartments outside the village Chainpura and the petitioners were prevented from taking it away because the excrement dropped by cattle in the reserved forest area constituted forest produce within the meaning of the inclusive definition provided in Cls. (iii) and (iv) of S.2(4)(b) of the Indian Forest Act. Section 26(2) of the Act prohibited removal of any Forest Produce unless permitted in writing by the Forest Officer or under any Rule made by the State Government. It is also asserted in the return that the excrement of domestic cattle being a forest produce, cannot be transported outside the forest village Chainpura by the petitioners without obtaining a transit pass. Whereas the excrement collected inside the area of forest village Chainpura in which the petitioners reside is conceded to be the property of the petitioners, the excrement collected in the forest outside the village area is claimed to be the property of the Forest Department on the ground that the excrement droppings from the cattle in the forest by the petitioners partook the character of forest produce.