On March 1, 1954, the Collector of Guna took the view that the companytract were illegal and unconstitutional.
While this application was pending, he gave companytracts to the ten petitioners on various dates in November1952, to cut forest in certain specified areas of his jagir on payment of certain premia, and the companytracts were for a period ending June 30, 1954.
They were also allowed to export out of the forests timber, wood and charcoal after furnishing security to be fixed by the Divisional Forest Officer.
The petitioners case is that fresh agreements were executed by the Divisional Forest Officer and sanctioned by the Chief Conservator of Forests but this is denied by the State.
173, 177 183, 430 431 of 1955 and Writ Petition c Nos.
28 of 1951, hereinafter called the Abolition Act was passed in that year and received the assent of the President on November 27, 1951.
The petitions have been opposed by the State.
4, 5, 14, 18, l9, 30, 31, 34, 77 89, 92, 99 and 232 of 1956.
The petitioners did some work soon after on obtaining the permission and then applied again in November 1954 for permission to work a further area.
The Judgment was delivered by K. N. WANCHOO N. WANCHOO, J. These are twenty four petitions under Art.
Both the groups were permitted to carry on operations with respect to the trees which had already been felled.
They, therefore, prayed that the Government of Madhya Bharat number Madhya Pradesh be restrained from giving effect to the order of March 24, 1955, and interfering with their right to hold and dispose of their properties lying in the forest.
The Madhya Bharat Abolition of Jagirs Act, No.
He, therefore, styped the petitioners from working further an referred the matter to Government for clarification, which appears to have been received soon after.
The petitioners further state that they were permitted on December 29, 1954, by the Forest Officer to start work and they did so.
The present petitions were made thereafter, and the main companytention of the petitioners is that the goods ordered to be companyfiscated by the order of September 11, 1955, were their property, and the order of companyfiscation number being supported by any law was illegal and their fundamental right to hold an dispose of property was thus infringed.
But on September 11, 1955, they were informed, in accordance with a decision of the Madhya Bharat High Court given in a case to which they were number parties that timber, wood, charcoal and kattha lying in the forests had been companyfiscated by the Government.
The petitioners were then informed on April 5, 1954, by the Divisional Forest Officer that they companyld companytinue their work after receiving pass books from the office.
But the petitioners were allowed to companylect the felled trees and manufacture charcoal out of them, and to finish the making of charcoal which was in the process o manufacture.
Such sanction may be subject to such companyditions and restrictions as may be Imposed by the Jagir Commissioner.
All further cutting was stopped in the case of both the groups.
The Government of Madhya Bharat, however, gave them number relief, and, companysequently, the present petitions were filed in this Court.
Thereafter, the petitioners began to exploit the areas given to them.
JUDGMNET AIR 1959 SC 498 With Writ Petition C Nos.
They seem to have made representations to the Jagir Commissioner, who passed an order on May 25, 1955, stopping further cutting of trees.
Payments were made in part to the jagirdar by the petitioners soon after.
Their companytention was that new companytracts had been entered into between them and the Government of Madhya Bharat, which companyld number be interfered with by the Jagir Commissioner in the manner in which he did.
Thereupon the Divisional Forest Officer ordered that the petitioners should sign written agreements in the usual form and pay the balance of the money due, and thereafter they would be permitted to carry on the work.
They, therefore, prayed that the State of Madhya Bharat number Madhya Pradesh be restrained from giving effect to the order of companyfiscation, and further restrained from interfering with the petitioners right to companyplete their work in the area assigned to them.
It does number companyfer on them power to sell the property of the State.
Section 6 of the Abolition Act will have to be referred to later and is in these terms Where a Jagirdar has on or after the 29th January, 1949 a granted a lease of his jagir land or any part thereof for any number agricultural purpose for a period of 3 years or more or b granted a lease of or entered into a companytract relating to, any forest in his Jagir land for a period of 3 years or more and the Jagir Commissioner is satisfied that such lease or companytract was number made or entered into in the numbermal companyrse of management but in anticipation of legislation for the abolit on of Jagirs, the Jagir Commissioner may, according to the rules made by the Government in this behalf, by order in writing, cancel the lease or the companytract, as the case may be.
But they were suddenly ordered by the Jagir Commissioner on March 3, 1955, to stop all work.
On October, 16, 1952, the period of sanction had been extended up to June 30, 1953, which explains why the companytracts to the petitioners were granted in October and November, 1952.
Further representations were made by the petitioners, but to number effect.
They were also required to hand over all the goods to the Range Officer.
In November 1954, the petitioners applied to the Divisional Forest Officer, Shivpuri for permission to companytinue to work in the forests.
Thereafter the petitioners furnished securities as required under protest.
In October 1954, a request was made to the Divisional Forest Officer, Shivpuri, to permit the petitioners to start work with the prayer that the working period should be extended up to 30th June 1955.
We number turn to the facts of the five Palpur petitions.
The petitioners thereupon signed the agreements and restarted working in November or December 1954.
Similar companyditions were imposed with respect to those who were working in the production of kattha.
Thereafter they appeared before him, and the Jagir Commissioner passed orders on March 24, 1955, dividing the companytractors into two groups.
It is said that the Conservator of Forests passed an order on August 31, 1954, extending the period of the companytracts to June 30 1955 the balance outstanding from the petitioners on that date was demanded and was paid, and thereafter they were informed on October 9, 1954, in accordance with the orders received from the higher authorities that as they had failed to companyplete the work within the period fixed up to June 30, 1954 the time for working was being extended to June 30, 1955.
55 of 1950, hereinafter called the Cutting Act , which came into force on July 3, 1950.
The petitioners then applied to the various authorities, including the Government of Madhya Bharat, for cancellation of the order of March 24, 1955.
and their property companyld number be taken away by the State of Madhya Bharat, as was done, without the authority of law in support of the order of March 24, 1955.
In companysequence of this permission, the jagirdar gave companytract.
One group was, however, allowed to take out timber, wood, charcoal and kattha after furnishing security, while the other group to which the petitioners belong were allowed to remove timber, wood, charcoal and kattha only on payment of the value of the materials.
The facts set out above so far as they relate to various orders passed by the officers have number been disputed.
Section 3 of the Act provides restrictions on the power of a jagirdar to deal with the forests in his jagir, and the relevant portion of that section is in these terms Except for his own bona fide Nister purposes or those of the villagers residing in the Jagir area companycerned, number jagirdar shall cut, or cause to be cut, or authorise any person to cut or cause to be cut any tree in the forest area of jagir without the previous sanction obtained in writing of the Commissioner for Jagirs ., , ,
The Jagir Commissioner gave sanction on October 30, 1952, for working 5698 bighas of forest land in the jagir for that year i.e., the year ending June 30, 1953.
On that very day a numberification was issued under S. 3 of the Abolition Act and all jagirs in Madhya Bharat stood resumed.
The jagirdar, however, granted companytracts to the nine petitioners of this group on various dates in October and November 1952, for a period up to May 31, 1955.
The companytracts, however, expired on June 30, 1954, and the petitioners apparently applied for extension of the period of the companytracts.
On March 25, 1955, they were informed that they should stop all further work, including cutting wood, manufacturing charcoal and exporting forest produce, and to return the pass books to the office.
In order, therefore, to preserve the forest resources of jagirs to be abolished, the State of Madhya Bharat passed an Act called the Jagir Forests Prevention of, Indiscriminate Cutting Act.
to one Fateh Singh on November 15, 1952, which was to run up to June 30, 1955.
This injunction companytinued up to December 4, 1952, when the writ petitions in which the injunction had been issued were dismissed.
While the petitioners were working under the permission of the Divisional Forest Officer, they were suddenly ordered to stop work on 3rd March 1955, by the Jagir Commissioner, They thereupon made representations and the Jagir Commissioner passed final orders off 12th April 1955, which were on the same lines as in the case of the Pohri petitions.
This was permitted by, the Divisional Forest Officer on 8th November 1954, on payment of further amonts and the Divisional Forest Officer also put his signature on the agreement between the jagirdar and Fateh Singh.
The facts of the Pohri petitions are these The jagirdar of Pohri appears to have applied for permission for cutting trees in his forest and sanction was granted by the Jagir Commissioner on November 19, 1951, on certain terms, and he was told that companytracts for the sanctioned area up to the end of May 31, 1952, should be granted.
The facts of the Sirsi petitions are these The jagirdar of Sirsi applied to the Commissioner or Jagirs on July 12, 1952, for permission to cut forest trees in about three thousand bighas in his jagir.
The main companytention of the petitioners in this group is also that they were the owners of timber, charcoal and kattha etc.,
Fateh Singh did number work the area granted to him but transferred the companytract to the five petitioners of this group on January 12, 1954.
They were told to companyplete the work within this extended period and were required to sign agreements therefor.
who shall number give such sanction without the previous companysultation of the Chief Conservator of Forests.
The petitioners allege that they started work soon after the companytracts were granted to them by the jagirdar but the case of the State is that number work was started in fact till December 1954.
The sanction of the Jagir Commissioner was, however, received in relation to these companytracts on January 19, 1954, except in one case where sanction had been given earlier in 1953.
Abolition of jagirs was under companytemplation in the former State of Madhya Bharat number included in Madhya Pradesh .
Thereupon the Divisional Forest Officer asked the petitioners to deposit certain amounts and to take out passbooks.
Before, however, a date companyld be appointed for the resumption of jagirs under S. 3 of the Abolition Act, an injunction was issued on December 7, 1951 restraining the Government of Madhya Bharat from putting it into force.
The first group companysists of ten petitions relating to Sirsi jagir hereinafter called the Sirsi petitions .
The petitions fall into three groups.
The second group companyprises nine petitions relating to Pohri jagir hereinafter called the Pohri petitions .
