IMPORTANT POINT
Where the forest produce seized was said to have been illegally collected from the trees unlawfully felled and by unlawful tapping and collection of such produce, the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, as amended by the Bihar Amendment Act alone are attracted and not the Bihar Forest Produce Trade Act, 1984.

Headnote:Indian Forest Act, 1927-Indian Forest (Bihar Amendment) Act, 1990-Section 52-Bihar Forest Produce (Regulation of Trade) Act, 1984-Section 32-Seizure of 445 kgs. of illicit katha together with truck-Katha seized was illegally manufactured after illegal cutting of khair trees-Confiscation of truck seized-Challenged-Whether Divisional Forest Officer was empowered to order for confiscation or forfeiture of the vehicle involved in the offences-(Yes)-High Court was not justified in holding that provisions of Bihar Forest Produce Trade Act alone applied to the case and Indian Forest Act stood excluded.
       Held : The High Court appears to have not only misdirected itself as to the nature of offence but also misconstrued the relevant provisions of the Trade Act and ignored as well certain vitally important provisions contained in the Bihar Amendment Act 9 of 1990. A proper comparison, scrutiny and consideration of the relevant provisions of the respective enactments Central Act and the state amendment by Bihar Act 9 of 1990 on the one side and the Trade Act on the other would go to show that the object underlying them are not only distinct and separate but the essence, import, content and character as well as nature of offence and the essential ingredients to constitute such offences under the respective enactments are wholly different and the offences under these two laws not only can co-exist but one cannot also be held to be destructive of the other. (Para 18)
       Though the Indian Forest Act, 1927 is a central enactment being a legislation pertaining to an entry in the concurrent list, the State of Bihar has chosen to amend the said law in its application to the State of Bihar by the Bihar Amendment Act 9 of 1990, by introducing its own sentence by way of punishment and scheme of provisions providing for powers of entry, inspection, search and seizure as well as for confiscation of produce or other properties seized and the procedure therefor in its entirety. As noticed supra, the Bihar State Legislature has chosen to enact by the Amendment Act, 1990 more comprehensive and stringent provisions by providing for enhanced and deterrent punishments to deal with the forest offences found to be rampant and on steep rise within the State providing its own class of officers to deal with such situations, the manner and procedure to be adopted in dealing with such offences and the nature, content and width of powers, they should be armed with to make it onerous and impossible for violators by dealing them with an iron hand by visiting upon such offenders with a drastic and severe punishment for anyone guilty of such forest offences. The Trade Act, apart from being a legislation of the year 1984 and strictly confined to the nature, class and category of offences pertaining to violation of the provisions in the said Act more in the nature of Regulation of Trade in the context of monopoly created in favour of the State and that too with reference to particular notified and enumerated forest produce defined for the purpose of the said Act to be specified forest produce , cannot be said to be destructive of the powers conferred upon the Authorised officer, the Appellate and Revisional Authorities. Section 32 of the Trade Act, thus, has no effect of effacing the Central Act as amended by Bihar Amendment Act, 1990 completely so as to disarm the concerned Authorities totally from having recourse to those provisions even in respect of offences which pertain, arise and relating to the provisions contained therein. (Para 21)

JUDGMENT

D. Raju, J.-Special leave granted in S.L.P. (C) Nos. 1140-1141 of 1998.

2. Common and identical questions of law are involved in these appeals and, therefore, they are dealt with together.

Criminal Appeal No.231 of 1996:

3. On receipt of secret information, the Range Officer of Forests, Simariya Range, Chatra South Forest Division, along with a team of forest officials chased a truck bearing Registration No. UPF 7233 and seized about 445 Kgs. of illicit Katha together with the truck in exercise of powers under Section 52 of the Indian Forest (Bihar Amendment) Act, 1990 (hereinafter referred to as "Bihar Amendment Act, 1990") near Danapur, on 5.2.1991. The seizure list was said to have been sent to the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chatra, by his letter dated 6.2.1991. On 11.3.1991, the Divisional Forest Officer, Chatra South Division, the Authorised officer, as per notification dated 2.1.1991 under Section 5 of the Bihar Amendment Act, 1990, informed the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate regarding initiation of action. The Range Officer was said to have submitted prosecution report against the respondents M/s Kedar Sao and Prem Kumar that the investigation in the matter revealed that the katha seized was illegally manufactured after illegal cutting of Khair trees from Delho, Jarhi, Kori, Chardram and Sima protected forest within the Chatra South Forest Division and sought for the confiscation of the seized truck. After hearing the respondents, the Authorised Officer by his order dated 19.1.1992 ordered confiscation of the truck seized, as above, in exercise of the powers under Section 52 of the said Act. The respondents filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority constituted under Section 52A of the said Act, viz., The Deputy Commissioner, Chatra.

4. The respondents seem to have also filed Crl. Writ jurisdiction case No. 201 of 1993 (R) seeking to quash the order dated 19.1.92 and also for the release of the truck in the meantime. A Division Bench of the Patna High Court (Ranchi Bench) by an order dated 3.9.94 allowed the writ petition on the ground that the order dated 19.1.92 was totally without jurisdiction and the power to order for confiscation or forfeiture of the vehicle involved in the offence was with the court and not the Divisional Forest Officer. The High Court while accepting the stand of the private party held that the provisions of Bihar Forest Produce (Regulation of Trade) Act, 1984 (hereinafter referred to as "Trade Act"), alone applied to the case by virtue of Section 32 of the said Act and the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 stood excluded and consequently the Authorities under the central enactment had no powers to confiscate the vehicle and the order passed was wholly without jurisdiction. The matter was left for the decision of the competent court as to whether the respondents have committed any offence and observing further that it was for that Court to pass any such orders. Hence, this appeal by the State of Bihar and the Divisional Forest Officer.

Criminal Appeal No.232 of 1996:

5. The seizure effected on 27.3.1993, which is the subject matter of this appeal, by the Forest Officials at Hunterganj was of the truck bearing Registration No. BRM-9615 while it was found carrying illicit forest produce like Harra, Gond, and Katha and the seizure list prepared therefor appears to have been sent forthwith to the Chief Judicial Magistrate concerned. The Range Officer of forest was said to have moved on 29.3.1993 the Authorised Officer to confiscate the seized forest produce and the truck and the said Authority appears to have initiated action as in the other case, and informed the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chatra, of the said move. Notice of such proceedings was said to have been issued to the owner of the vehicle Mohan Lal Vaidya to show cause against the proposals and on the said person informing that the vehicle was under an agreement with the respondent Sri Kant Prasad Pradhan, he

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2003 Supreme(SC) 793

Cases Referred (2)