JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Mr. I.A. Hazarika, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Mr. P. Borthakur, learned Addl. P.P. for the State respondent no. 1. Also heard Mr. D. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Forest Department, Assam.

2. The petitioner before us is Akbar Hussain. He is aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 07.03.2022 passed by the Additional District Judge, F.T.C, Cachar Silchar, Assam in Misc. Appeal No. 01/2021 dismissing the appeal preferred by the petitioner under Section 49C of the Assam Forest Regulation of 1891 (the Regulation for short) and against the order dated 14.12.2020 passed by the Authorised Officer-cum-Divisional Forest Officer, Cachar whereby the truck bearing registration number MZ-03-7722 of the petitioner stood confiscated under Section 49(4) of the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891.

3. The genesis of the case was that on 24.05.2020 at around 7.30 P.M., on receipt of credible information about illegal transportation of forest produce, a group from the Range HQ of Hawaithang Range, Dholai proceeded towards Lailapur where they found one truck bearing registration No. MZ-9-03-7722 parked on the road side of NH 54 near the Lailapur Police outpost. The said truck was loaded with forest produce (sawn timber). The timber was unclaimed and also no permit of transit pass was available in violation of the provisions of Assam Forest Regulation of, 1891. The Officer in-charge of Dholai P.S. had already seized the forest produce along with the vehicle which was subsequently handed over to the Hawaithang Range vide order dated 17.06.2020 passed by learned Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Cachar at Silchar in Dholai P.S. Case No. 103/2020. The vehicle along with the forest produce were seized under Sections 40, 41, 49 of the Assam Forest Regulation of 1891 (New Amendment 1995). On 23.06.2020, the Seizing Officer served a general notice to locate the owner of the truck and on 24.07.2020, the petitioner appeared and claimed the seized vehicle as his vehicle.

4. The petitioner furnished the relevant documents of the vehicle but he denied the ownership of the seized forest produce stating that he was not aware of the transportation of the forest produce in his truck. It was submitted by the petitioner that the driver of the vehicle, without informing him loaded the timber, but the truck was not handed over to the petitioner.

5. The offence report was forwarded to the Authorised Officer-cum-Divisional Forest officer, Cachar Division, who issued notice to the petitioner under Section 31B in response to which the petitioner submitted his reply, denying the allegations against him. The Divisional Forest Officer is arrayed as respondent no. 2 in the present petition. On conclusion of the confiscation proceeding the opposite party no. 2 vide order dated 14.12.2020 under Section 49(4) of the Assam Forest Regulation, 1981 (as amended in 1995), confiscated the truck to the department.

6. The petitioner has submitted that he has purchased the truck by obtaining a loan from the State Bank of India and he has to deposit monthly instalment of Rs. 50,000/-to the Bank. He makes a livelihood through his truck. Prior to the incident, the truck was transported with bags of cement from Badarpur to Mizoram but the truck had to be halted and stationed due to the Covid pandemic and finally on 22.05.2020, the vehicle was arranged for its return to Silchar. However, on 25.05.2020, the petitioner received the information from Dholai P.S. about the seizure of his truck with forest produce at Lailapur. When the driver of his truck was intercepted by the police, the driver escaped. The petitioner had no knowledge about the seized timber being loaded in his vehicle. The petitioner had repeatedly requested the O.P. no. 2 to release his truck but the O.P. no. 2 ignored his requests.

7. Against the order of O.P. no. 2 dated 14.12.2020, the petitioner preferred an appeal under Section 49(C) of the Assam Forest Regul