The Principal Chief Conservator Of Forests And ANR v. Banumathi And ORS

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

[ CIRCUIT BENCH AT PORT BLAIR ] *** MAT/26/2023 IA No.CAN/1/2023, CAN/2/2023, CAN/3/2023 The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and another Vs.

Banumathi and others Mr. Shatadru Chakraborty Mr. D.Dwivedi ... for the appellants Mrs. Anjili Nag ... for the respondent no.1 Mr. Tulsi Lall Mr. Rakesh Kumar ... for the respondent nos.2&3 October 12, 2023 [SR] Item No.4.

Heard learned counsels for the parties.

This is an intra-court appeal assailing an order of a Single Bench of this Court passed on January 16, 2019 in WP No.016 of 2019. By the said order, the learned Court has directed the Administration to provide electricity connection to the house of the petitioner therein (respondent no.1 in the appeal) within a stipulated time frame upon compliance of all legal formalities by her. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that though the land in question is a forest land, the appellants were not impleaded as parties in the writ petition. Moreover, in terms of section 2(ii) of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, any forest land or any portion thereof cannot be used for non-forest purposes. Learned counsel places reliance on the authority in T.N.Godavarman Thirumalpad vs.

The Union of India and others reported in (1997) 2 SCC 267 wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed that regularisation of encroachments on forest land in any form, including allotment/use of forest land for agricultural or horticultural purpose, shall be strictly prohibited.

compliance with the order of the writ court and the land or any portion thereof was not allotted in favour of the first respondent by the authority.

It appears from the materials on record that the first respondent has been in occupation of the plot in question which is admittedly a forest land and has raised a residential house therein. In compliance with the direction of the writ court, the second and third respondents have granted electric connection to the first respondent in her residential house.

It is not in dispute that the petitioners have not evicted the occupant from the land in question.

There is a catena of decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as this Court that even illegal occupiers/encroachers of a property are entitled to get electric connection therein until they are evicted therefrom by due process of law. Since the first respondent is already in possession of the plot in question and the second and third respondents have granted electricity connection to her therein, the ratio of the judgment relied upon by the appellants as well the Act of 1980 are not applicable in the fact situation of the present case. The appellants can at best take necessary steps for eviction of the first respondent from the plot in question, if so desired, by due process of law.

In view of the above, we are inclined to hold that the present appeal is devoid of merit and is liable to be dismissed. The appeal being MAT/26/2023 is accordingly dismissed. Consequently all the connected applications are also dismissed. There shall, however, be no order as to costs. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, may be supplied to the parties upon compliance of usual formalities. ( Subhendu Samanta, J.) ( Suvra Ghosh, J.)