STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. DAYA RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal by the State, under Section 378, Code of Criminal Procedure, is directed against the judgment dated 30th September, 2002, of learned Special Judge (Forests), Shimla, whereby respondent Padam Dass (now dead) and others (hereinafter called accused), have been acquitted of charge, under Sections 379, 420, 467, 468, 471, 218 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 41 and 42 of the Indian Forest Act and Section 5(2) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

(2.) CASE of the prosecution is that in the year 1980, a criminal conspiracy was hatched by accused Vidya Dutt and Partap Singh, who were private forest contractors with Padam Dass (deceased), who was then working as Forest Guard in Summer Kot beat of Rohru Forest Division and Daya Ram, Field Kanungo in the area of Rohru, for felling trees on Government land in the guise of felling trees on private land. To give practicable shape to that conspiracy, five applications signed by seven land owners of private land, were submitted to J.S. Chauhan, Range Officer (discharged accused), for marking trees on the private land described in those applications. Applications were submitted to the D.F.O. by the said Range Officer. D.F.O. directed that the land described in those applications be demarcated and trees standing thereon marked. Demarcation was carried out on the spot by Daya Ram, Field Kanungo. List of trees was prepared by Padam Dass, Forest Guard. Certificates were appended on the list of trees that no tree had been marked on Government land and that all the marked trees stood on the private land, mentioned in the applications. D.F.O. then passed the order for felling of trees included in the marking list. As per that list, there were 23 kail and 13 deodar trees. Those trees were felled. They yielded 502 scants, the volume of which was 1060.28 Cft.. An application was submitted to the D.F.O., together with list of timber for grant of export permit. Block Officer, Kalmi Nand (now deceased) verified that the timber included in the list, had been extracted from the trees marked on private land and that no felling had taken place on Government land. Export permit, Ex. PW-2/B bearing No. 190/81/82 was issued. The permit was valid up to 15.01.1982. 459 scants, as per the allegation of the prosecution, were exported within the validity period of permit Ex. PW-2/B against Railway Receipts, Ex. PW-12/A and Ex. PW-12/B. Thus, there remained 43 scants with accused Vidya Dutt and Partap Singh Dutta. In the application, seeking extension of time for export of timber, they claimed that 280 scants remained to be exported. Accused Surinder Singh, Forest Guard, Khara Pathar Check Post, certified that 280 scants remained to be exported. On the basis of his recommendation, 280 scants were shown to be in balance with accused Vidya Dutt and Partap Singh and the time for export of these scants was extended up to 26th March, 1982 vide permit Ex. PW-2/C. The said accused then exported 211 scants against Railway Receipts, Ex. PW-6/A and Ex. PW-13/A. Thus, against the total quantity of 502 scants, 663 scants were exported.

(3.) INVESTIGATION of the case revealed that as a matter of fact, in the garb of marking trees on private land, referred to in the applications, three trees had been marked on Government land. It was also revealed that signatures of some of the applicants in the applications had been forged by accused Vidya Dutt (now dead). Timber, which had been exported in excess of the permitted quantity, was found to have been extracted from those three trees felled on adjoining Government land.