5 of the Act.
226 of the Constitution directing them to cancel the orders companytained in the fetters of the Divisional Forest Officer dated March 19, 1958 and July 11, 1958 and to restrain the appellants from enforcing the said orders.
Accordingly the High Court issued an injunction restraining the appellants from preventing the respondents from cutting any species of trees standing in the forest lands in the villages in question and from removing and disposing of the produce thereof.
The High Court, by its judgment dated January 14, 1959, allowed the application of the respondents holding that after companying into force of the Jagirs Abolition Act the rights of the jagirdars in the forest lands and the trees were extinguished but at the same time jagirdars became occupants of the forest lands under s. 5 1 b of the said Act and they accordingly became entitled to the trees standing on the forest lands.
By the agreement of merger dated June 1, 1948 the State of Waghach was merged with the State of Bombay with effect from June 10, 1948.
declaring all uncultivated lands in the said 39 villages to be forests for the purposes of Ch.
On August 19, 1953, respondents 1 to 11 entered into an agreement with respondent number 12 whereby respondent number 12 became entitled to cut and remove all species of trees from the forest lands in the 39 villages for a period of ten years.
On July 6, 1956 the State Government issued a numberification under s. 34 A of the Indian Forest Act.
On July 11, 1958.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated January 14, 1959 of the Bombay High Court in Special Civil Application No.
The present appeal is brought by special leave on behalf of the State of Gujarat and the other appellants against the order of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in the Special Civil Application number 2146 of 1958.
Respondents number.
He, therefore, asked the respondents to refrain from cutting teak and Pancharao trees standing in the forest lands.
On March 19, 1953 the Divisional Forest Officer wrote a letter to the respondents wherein he stated that all the rights of the jagirdars had been abolished by the Jagirs Abolition Act and that the reserved species of trees standing on the lands belonged to the State Government.
the Divisional Forest Officer wrote another letter to the respondents in which he stated that the reserved species of trees teak, blackwood and sandalwood vested in the State Government and, therefore, prohibited the respondents from cutting and removing the material from those trees.
On August 1, 1954, the Bombay Merged Territories and Areas Jagirs Abolition Act, 1953 Act XXXIX of 1954 came into force.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
Except for the lands which were cultivated, all the lands in the said villages were forest lands.
281 of 1962.
The respondents thereafter filed a Special Civil Application number 2146 of 1958 in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay against the applicants for the grant of a writ in the nature of mandamus under Art.
He also warned the respondents that if they cut and removed the material of such trees they will be liable to prosecution.
The High Court held that all the trees standing on the forest lands belonged to the respondents 1 to 11 and the same did number belong to the State Government and companysequently the State Government was number entitled to sell the material obtained by cutting the trees.
The jagirs were classified, under the Act, into two categories, namely, 1 Proprietary jagirs and 2 Non proprietary jagirs.
This Act was passed with the object of abolishing jagirs in the merged territories and merged areas in the State of Bombay and providing for matters companysequential and incidental thereto.
T. Desai, J.B. Dadachanji, O.C. Mathur and Ravinder Narain, for respondents number 1, 2, 4, 6, 10 and 12.
2145 of 1958.
G. Patwardhan and R.H. Dhebar, for the appellants.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Ramaswami, J. Respondents number.
1 to l1 further claimed that they had full proprietary rights over the forest lands and enjoyed the produce as full owners thereof.
On the same date he wrote another letter to the respondents and informed them that the material obtained by cutting teak and blackwood trees which was tying in the forest lands, had been advertised for sale.
1 to I 1 were the Jagirdars of Waghach State in former Sankeda Mewar in Reva Kantha Agency which number forms part of the State of Gujarat.
They claimed that they were the full owners of all the land including forest areas in the said State and exercised full revenue power during their regime.
There were 39 villages in Waghach State in all of which there were forests.
