The Indian Forest (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Act, 1968

1. (1) This Act may be called the Indian Forest (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Act, 1968.
2. (2) It shall extend to the whole of Himachal Pradesh.

In section 1 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1927), in its application to the [State] of Himachal Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:— "(2-A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), it also extends to such territories which, immediately before the 1st November, 1956, were comprised in the State of Patiala and East Punjab States Union, and have since merged with Himachal Pradesh under section 5 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966 (31 of 1966)."

In sub-section

1. (1) of section 38 of the principal Act, for the words 'the owners of shares therein amounting in the aggregate to atleast two thirds thereof', the words 'the owners of the majority of shares therein' shall be substituted.

In sections 52, 53 and 55 of the principal Act, for the word 'carts' wherever it occurs, the word 'vehicles' shall be substituted.

For section 82 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— "82. Recovery of money due to Government.—(1) All money payable to the State Government under this Act or under any rule made under this Act or on account of the price of timber, or other forest produce, or of expenses incurred in execution of this Act in respect of timber and other forest produce, or under any contract relating to timber or other forest produce including any sum recoverable thereunder for the breach thereof, or in consequence of its cancellation, or under the terms of a notice relating to the sale of timber or other forest produce by auction or by invitation of tenders, issued by or under the authority of a Forest Officer and all compensation awarded to the State Government under this Act may, if not paid when due, be recovered under the law for the time being in force, as if it were an arrear of land revenue.

1. (2) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the provisions of sub-section
2. (1) shall also apply to all cases of recovery which are either pending at the commencement of the Indian Forest (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Act, 1968 or are initiated thereafter in respect of contracts entered into prior to such commencement, any judgement, decree or order of any court to the contrary notwithstanding".

After section 84 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— "84-A. Validity of settlements etc. of convenanting State.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that every settlement or arrangement made before the 20th August, 1954, under the authority of the Government of any covenanting State forming part of the territories referred to in sub-section (2A) of section 1, with respect to any claims or rights of any persons admitted by the Government of that State to be in existence in any of the forests or waste lands which were the property of that Government or over which that Government had proprietary rights or to the whole or part of the forest produce of which that Government was entitled, shall be deemed to be a settlement of claims and rights made under this Act and all such claims and rights shall be deemed to be claims and rights duly inquired into and admitted for the purposes of this Act and shall be deemed always to have been so inquired and admitted for the purposes of the Patiala Forest Act, 1999 B.K., and it shall not be, and shall be deemed never to have been, necessary to determine the rights of persons in accordance with chapters II and IV, as the case may be, for declaring any forest or waste land to be a reserved or protected forest or a first or a second class forest".

1. (1) The Indian Forest (East Punjab Amendment) Act, 1948 (7 of 1948), the Indian Forest (Punjab Amendment) Act, 1954 (20 of 1954) and the Indian Forest (Punjab Amendment) Act, 1962 (13 of 1962) in so far as these apply to the areas merged in Himachal Pradesh under section 5 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966 (31 of 1966), are hereby repealed: Provided that such repeal shall not affect—
   • (a) the previous operation of the Acts so repealed or anything duly done or suffered thereunder ; or
   • (b) any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the Acts so repealed; or
   • (c) any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed against the Acts so repealed; or
   • (d) any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid; or
   • (e) operation of section 39 of the Patiala Forest Act, 1999 B.K., which is a saving under section 7 of the Indian Forest (Punjab Amendment) Act, 1962 (13 of 1962), and any such investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced, and any such penalty, forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if this Act had not been passed.
2. (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), anything done or any action taken (including any appointment or delegation made, notification, order, instruction or direction issued, rule, regulation, bye-law or form framed) so far as it is not inconsistent therewith, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the principal Act as so amended: Provided that all forests which, immediately before the commencement of the Indian Forest (Punjab Amendment) Act, 1962 (13 of 1962), are deemed to be, first and second class forests under the Acts repealed by sub-section
3. (1) shall, respectively, be deemed to be reserved and protected forests for the purposes of the principal Act as amended by this Act.

In section 59 of the principal Act,—

1. (a) in the heading after the words "orders under section" but before the figure "55", the figures, alphabet and sign "52-A", shall be inserted;
2. (b) the existing section shall be re-numbered as sub-section (1); and
3. (c) after sub-section

1. (1) so renumbered, the following sub-section
2. (2) and sub-section
3. (3) shall be added, namely:— "(2) Any person aggrieved by any order passed under section 52-A or section 59-A may, within thirty days from the date of communication to him of such order, appeal to the Sessions Judge having jurisdiction over the area in which the property to which the order relates has been seized and the Sessions Judge shall, after giving, an opportunity to the appellant and the authorised officer or the officer specially empowered under section 59-A, as the case may be, to be heard, pass such order as he may think fit confirming, modifying or annulling the order appealed against.
4. (3) The order of the Sessions Judge under sub-section
5. (2) shall be final and shall not be questioned in any court of law."

After section 59 of the principal Act, the following sections 59-A and 59-B shall be inserted, namely:— "59-A. Revision.—Any forest officer not below the rank of Conservator of Forests, specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf by notification published in the Official Gazette, may, before the expiry of thirty days from the date of order of the authorised officer under section 52-A, suo-moto call for and examine the records of that order and may make such enquiry or cause such enquiry to be made and may pass such orders as he deems fit: Provided that no order prejudicial to a person shall be passed under this section without giving him an opportunity of being heard. 59-B. Bar of jurisdiction in certain cases.—Whenever any timber (excluding fuelwood), resin, khair wood and katha together with any tool, rope, chain, boat or vehicle used in committing any forest offence is seized under section 52, the authorised officer under sub-section

1. (1) of section 52-A or the officer specially empowered under section 59-A or Sessions Judge hearing an appeal under sub-section
2. (2) of section 59 shall have, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act or in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974) or in any other law for the time being in force, any other officer, court, tribunal or authority shall not have, jurisdiction to make order with regard to custody, possession, delivery, disposal or distribution of such property."

For section 60 of the principal Act, the following shall be substituted, namely:— "60. When an order for the confiscation of any property has been passed under section 52-A or section 55 or section 57, as the case may be, or where on revision application made under section 59-A such order for confiscation has not been set aside, and the period limited by section 59 for an appeal from such order has elapsed, and no such appeal has been preferred or when, on such an appeal being preferred, the Appellate Court confirms such orders in respect of the property or a portion of such property, such property or such portion thereof, if it has been sold under sub-section

1. (3) of section 52-A, the sale proceeds thereof, as the case may be, shall vest in the State Government free from all encumbrances."

After the figure "52" but before the sign ".", occurring at the end of section 61 of the principal Act, the signs and words, "which is not the property of the Government, and the withdrawal of any charge made in respect of such property" shall be inserted.

For the words, brackets and figures "the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898)" occurring in section 67 of the principal Act, the words, brackets and figures "the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)" may be substituted.