Chapter IX PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE

55. (1) Where there is reason to believe that a forest offence has been committed in respect of any forest produce, such produce together with all implements, tools, vehicle used in committing any such offence may be seized by any forest officer.

1. (2) Any forest officer may, if there is reason to believe that a vehicle has been or is being used for the transport of forest produce in respect of which there is a reason to believe a forest offence has been or is being committed, require the driver or other person in charge of such vehicle to stop the vehicle and cause it to remain stationery as long as may reasonably be necessary to examine the contents in the vehicle and inspect all records relating to the goods carried which are in possession of such driver or other person in charge of the vehicle.
2. (3) Every officer seizing any property under this section shall place on such property or the receptacle or vehicle, if any, in which it is contained a mark indicating that the same has been seized and shall, as soon as may be, make a report of such seizure to the Magistrate having jurisdiction to try offence on account of which the seizure has been made : Provided that where the forest produce in respect of which such offence is believed to have been committed is the property of the Government and if the offender is unknown, it shall be sufficient If the officer makes, as soon as may be, report of the circumstances of the seizure to his superior officer.

56. Any forest officer not below the rank of Range Officer who, or whose sub-ordinate has seized any cattle or other forest produce, animal, vehicle or any other thing referred to in section 55, may release the same on the execution by the owner thereof of a bond for the production of the property so released if and when so required before the Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the offence on account of which the seizure had been made.

57. (1) Any person who is in unauthorised occupation of forest land may without prejudice to any other action that may be taken against him under any other provisions of the Act or any other law for the time being in force, be summarily evicted, by a forest officer not below the rank of a Deputy Conservator of Forests having jurisdiction over the said forest land and any building or other construction erected thereon shall, if not removed by such person within such time as the Deputy Conservator of Forests may fix, be liable to forfeiture: Provided that before evicting a person under this sub-section he shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

1. (2) Any property forfeited under sub-section (1) shall be disposed of in such manner as the Deputy Conservator of Forests may direct and the cost of removal of any crop, building or other work and all works necessary to restore the land to its original condition shall be recoverable from the persons evicted in the manner as if it were an arrear of land revenue.
2. (3) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Deputy Conservator of Forests under sub-sections (1) and (2) may, within a period of one month and in such manner as may be prescribed, appeal against such order to the Conservator of Forests

58. (1) The forest produce which is not the property of the Government and in respect of which a forest offence has been committed and all implements, vehicles, or other conveyance or any other vehicle used in committing such offence, shall be liable by order of the convicting court to be forfeited to the Government.

1. (2) Such forfeiture may be in addition to any other punishment provided in this Act for such offence.

59. When the trial of any forest offence is concluded, any forest produce in respect of which such offence has been committed shall, if it is the property of the Government or has been forfeited, be taken possession of by the forest officer, and in any other case may be disposed of in such manner as the court may, by order, direct.

60. When the offender is not known or cannot be found, the Magistrate may if he finds that an offence has been committed, order the property in respect of which the offence has been committed to be forfeited to the Government together with tools, vehicles or cattle and other articles used in committing the offence and taken charge of by the forest officer or to be made over to the person whom the Magistrate deems to be entitled to the same: Provided that no such order shall be made until the expiration of thirty days from the date of seizing the property, or without hearing the person, if any, claiming any right thereto, and the evidence, if any, which he may produce in support of his claim.

61. Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, the Deputy Conservator of Forests may direct sale of the property seized under section 55 which is subject to speedy and natural decay and deposit the sale proceeds with the Government.

62. The officer who made the seizure under section 55 or any officer superior or any person claiming to be interested in the property so seized may, within thirty days from the date of any order passed under section 58, section 59 or section 60, appeal to the Court having jurisdiction.

63. When an order for the forfeiture of any property has been passed under section 58 or section 60 thereof, as the case may be, and the period specified by section 62 for an appeal from such orders has lapsed, and no such appeal has been preferred, or where on such appeal being preferred, the Court confirms such order in respect of the whole or a portion of such property or such portion thereof, as the case may be, shall vest in the Government free from all encumbrances.

64. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, where a forest offence is believed to have been committed in respect of timber, firewood, charcoal and other forest produce which is the property of the Government, the officer seizing the property shall, without any unreasonable delay, produce it, together with all implements, ropes, chains, vehicles and cattle and other animal used in committing such offence before a superior forest officer authorised by the Government in this behalf, not being below the rank of the Deputy Conservator of Forests (hereinafter referred to as the authorised officer).

1. (2) Where an authorised officer seizes any timber, charcoal, firewood and other forest produce which is the property of Government, or where such property is produced before an authorised officer under sub-section (1) and if he is satisfied that a forest offence has been committed in respect of such property, such authorised officer may, whether or not a prosecution is instituted for the commission of such forest offence, order confiscation of property so seized together with all ropes, chains, implements, vehicles, cattle and other animal used in committing such offence.

65.

Revision 66. Any forest officer not below the rank of a Chief Conservator of Forests, before the expiry of thirty days from the date of the order of the Conservator of Forests under section 57, on his own motion 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 order as he deems fit :

Appeal 67. Any person aggrieved by an order passed under section 64 or section 66 may, within thirty days from the date of issue of order to him appeal to the Magistrate having jurisdiction over the area of seizure of such property and the Magistrate after giving an opportunity to be heard shall pass an order either confirming or rejecting or modifying the order appealed against.

68. (1) Any forest officer exercising powers under this Act or any rule made thereunder who--

1. (a) without reasonable ground of suspicion, searches or causes to be searched any place, premises, vehicle or vessel; or
2. (b) vexatiously detains or searches or arrests any person; shall, for every such offence, upon conviction by the court, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, Or with both.

1. (2) Any person wilfully and maliciously giving false information and so causing an arrest or a search to be made under this Act shall, upon conviction by the court, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with a fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both.

69. Whoever with intend to cause damage or injury to the public or to any person to cause wrongful gain as defined in the Indian Penal Code, 1860,--

1. (a) knowingly counterfeits upon any timber or standing tree a mark used by forest officer to indicate that such timber or such tree is the property of the Government or of some person, or that it may lawfully be cut or removed by some person; or
2. (b) unlawfully affixes to any timber or standing tree a mark used by forest officers; or
3. (c) alters, defaces or obliterates any such marks placed on any timber or standing tree by or under the authority of a forest officer; or
4. (d) alters, moves, destroys or defaces any boundary marks of any forest to which the provisions of this Act are applicable; shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to six thousand rupees or with both.

70. (1) A forest officer may, without an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person--

1. (a) who has been concerned in any forest offence punishable with imprisonment for not less than one month; or
2. (b) who on demand of such forest officer, refuses, gives his name of residence or gives a name or residence which such officer has reason to believe to be false; or
3. (c) if there is reason to believe that he will abscond.

1. (2) Any person arrested under sub-section (1), shall be informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest and shall be produced before the nearest Magistrate having jurisdiction within a period of twenty four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of Magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the order of a Magistrate.

71. Any forest officer of the rank not below that of a Range Officer who, or whose subordinate, has arrested any person under the provisions of section 70 may, release such person on his executing a bond with or without surety to appear before the Magistrate if so required.

71 A. Certain offences to be non-bailable.- Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,-

1. (a) The offences under sections or clauses of sections mentioned in clause (b) shall be non-bailable.
2. (b) The sections and clauses of sections of this Act referred to in clause (a) are the following, namely:-
   • (i) section 20 clauses (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (k);
   • (ii) section 24 clause (a), (b), and (h) of sub-section (1);
   • (iii) section 42, sub-section (3) and
   • (iv) section 69.
3. (c) No person accused of any offence referred to in clause (b), shall if in custody, be released on bail or on his own bond unless-
   • (i) the prosecution has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release, and,
   • (ii) where the prosecution opposes the application, the Court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence.

72. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 ( V of 1898 ), any Magistrate of the First Class especially empowered in this behalf by the State Government may try summarily any forest offence.

73.

Power to compound offences 74. (1) The Government may, by notification, empower a forest officer not below the rank of a Range Officer-

1. (a) to accept from any person against whom reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed any forest offence, other than offence referred to in section 68 and section 69, a sum of money which shall be twice the value of the property involved by way of compensation for the offence which such person is suspected to have committed; and
2. (b) when any property has been seized is liable to confiscation to release the same on payment of the value thereof as estimated by such officer.

1. (2) On the payment of such sum of money or such value, or both, as the case may be, to such officer, the suspected person, if in custody, shall be discharged with and the property, if any, seized shall be released, and no further proceedings shall be taken against such person or property.

75. When in any proceedings taken under the provisions of this Act or in consequence of anything done under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force, a question arises as to whether any forest produce is the property of the Government, such produce shall be presumed to be the property of the Government until the contrary is proved and in case of any prosecution the burden of proving the contrary shall lie on the accused.

76. (1) When any person is convicted of felling, cutting, girdling, marking, lopping or tapping trees, or of injuring them by fire or otherwise in contravention of provisions of this Act or of any rule made thereunder, the convicting court may, in addition to any other punishment which it may impose, order that person to pay to the Government such compensation for each tree with respect to which the offence was committed, as it deems just.

1. (2) Where the person convicted of commission of an offence is an agent or servant of another person, the court may, after holding such enquiry as it deems fit or giving him reasonable opportunity of being heard, order such person to pay the compensation if it is of the opinion that the offence was committed due to neglect or default of such other person.

77. When the holder of any lease, licence or contract whatsoever granted or continued by or on behalf of the Government for any of the purposes of this Act, or when any such offence is committed by any agent or servant of the holder of any such lease, licence or contract and the Government is satisfied with the commission of the offence was a consequence of the instigation of such holder or of any wilful neglect or default on his part, the Government or a forest officer duly empowered by the Government in this behalf may, by order in writing, declare the lease, licence, or contract to be forfeited in whole or in part with effect on and from the date to be specified in the order.

78. This Act shall be, in addition to, and not in derogation of any other law for the time being in force.