The Dy Director Presently Knows As The Divisional Forest Officer Social Forestry Division Pune v. Vijay Jagannath Bhosle

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 14400 OF 2024 IN CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 01 OF 2020 IN LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 12 OF 2017 IN WRIT PETITION NO. 5202 OF 2000 The Dy. Director, (presently known as the Divisional Forest Offcer) Social Forestry Division, Pune.

..

Applicant In the matter of:

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Director General Social Forestry, M.S. Pune and Anr.

Petitioners

Versus

Vijay Jagannath Bhosle ..

Respondent ...

Mr. B.V. Samant, Addl.G.P., a/w M. S. Bane, AGP, for the State. ...

CORAM: BHARATI DANGRE & MANJUSHA DESHPANDE, JJ.

DATED : 11th NOVEMBER, 2024 P.C:- 1.

Being aggrieved by the order dismissing the Letters Patent Appeal on 07.09.2021, the Interim Application seeking its restoration alongwith a prayer for condonation of delay is listed before us.

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The Applicant has submitted that the death of the Respondent came to the knowledge of the Applicant on 21.12.2016, when the service report from the Range Forest Offcer, Indapur was called for. When the matter was listed for hearing before the Court on 18.12.2017, a request was made by the AGP representing the Applicant, seeking six weeks time for taking steps to bring the legal heirs on record. Accordingly, Civil Application No. 1 of 2020 was fled for bringing the legal heirs of the respondent on record alongwith prayer for condonation of delay.

The Civil Application was listed before the Registrar (Judicial - II) on 07.09.2021. A conditional order came to be passed granting two weeks time to supply copies to issue notice to the proposed legal heirs, failing which the Civil Application alongwith Letters Patent Appeal shall stand dismissed without further reference to the Court. 3.

The Applicant has stated that, the copies of the memo could not be supplied in time due to Covid-19 pandemic as well as due to the dearth of manpower in the offce of the Divisional Forest Offcer, Wanwadi, Pune. As a result, the matter has been dismissed on account of failure to supply of copies by the Applicant. It is the contention of the Applicant that copies could not be supplied due to circumstances beyond their control.

4.

We are satisfed with the reasons assigned in the

3/3 15 IA.14400.2024.odt Application. Since it is specifcally urged before us that, if the Appeal is not restored to the fle, the Forest Department will suffer irreparable loss, we are inclined to restore the Appeal to its fle by condoning the delay caused in bringing out the Interim Application seeking the restoration of the Letters Patent Appeal. As a result, Interim Application is made absolute in terms of prayer clause (a), (b) and (c). (MANJUSHA DESHPANDE, J.) (BHARATI DANGRE, J.)