JUDGMENT :

S.J. Kathawalla, Milind N. Jadhav, JJ.

By the present petition, the Petitioners have prayed for the following reliefs:

"(a) That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus or a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the 2nd Respondent to issue his Judgment under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Private Forest (Acquisition) Act, 1975 in terms of its Order dated January 13, 2011 without recourse to the Union of India under The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;

(b) Without prejudice to prayer (a) above and strictly in the alternative thereto, the Hon'ble Court be pleased to direct the 5th Respondent to grant its approval under Section 2 of The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 within such time as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and/or proper;

(c) That this Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus or a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the 4th Respondent to:

(i) delete the Mutation Entry No.720 dated December 24, 2005 in the revenue records maintained in respect of the lands described in Exhibit I hereto;

(ii) intimate all concerned Land and Revenue Authorities to update their respective records of the deletion of Mutation Entry No.720 dated December 24, 2005.”

2. Before we advert to the submissions made on behalf of the respective parties, it will be apposite to state the relevant facts in brief.

2.1. The Petitioner No.1 is the owner of following six parcels of land situated in revenue village Bhushi, Taluka Maval, District Pune, within the limits of the Municipal Council of Lonavala (for short: "the said lands"):-

2.2. The Petitioner No.1 has assigned development rights to the Petitioner No.2 in respect of the said lands under registered development agreements.

2.3. The Petitioners assert that the following documentary evidence in respect of the said lands prove that the said lands are/were agricultural lands:

i. 7/12 extracts i.e. revenue records of the said lands;

ii. judgment and order dated 31.07.1976 passed by the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, Poona in Ceiling Appeal No. 498 of 1976 in respect of Survey Nos. 113 and 113A;

iii. order dated 22.01.1992 passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Haveli, Pune in respect of Survey Nos. 113/A/1, 113/B/2 and 113/B/1 regularizing the transfer of said lands in favour of the Petitioner No.1's predecessor in title;

iv. commencement certificate dated 14.05.1997 issued by the Lonavala Municipal Council in respect of Survey Nos. 113/A(pt), 113/B(pt), 114, 115 and 116/1;

v. final development plan of the year 1978 classifying the said lands as 'agricultural lands';

vi. certificate dated 02.11.2011 issued by the Lonavala Municipal Council certifying that the said lands were included in the 'agricultural' or 'non-development' plan approved on 20.01.1978;

vii. zone certificate dated 12.07.2018 issued by the Lonavala Municipal Council classifying the said lands as 'agricultural lands'.

2.4. In view of the above documentary evidence it is the Petitioners' case that the said lands are not 'private forest land' or 'forest' as contemplated under the provisions of the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, 1975 ("the State Act") and/or the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 ("the Central Act").

2.5. On 11.11.2005, the Respondent No.3 - Deputy Conservator of Forest issued a letter to the Tahsildar - Maval stating that the said lands along with several other lands stood vested in the State Government under the provisions of the State Act and the Maharashtra Private Forest (Acquisition) Rules, 1980 ("the said Rules"). The said letter further stated that all non-forest activities were permissib