A law cannot come into being by merely issuing a notification without giving it due publicity in accordance with the mandatory provisions of law.

D. P. Sood, J.—The State of Himachal Pradesh through the instant appeal has assailed the impugned judgment dated December 30. 1987, passed by the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rampur Bushar, District Shimla, whereby the respondent was acquitted of the offence under section 33 of the Indian Forest Act.

2. The complaint was filed against the respondent for the commission of the aforesaid offence alleging illicit encroachment upon four Bighas of land forming part of Bhadral’ demarcated protected forest. The trial Court by the aforesaid impugned judgment acquitted the respondent for want of proof of notification. The State of Himachal Pradesh has come up in this appeal against the impugned judgment recording order of acquittal.

3. The allegation against the respondent from the complaint appears to be that Bhadral forest was a demarcated protected forest and the respondent had encroached therein and broken up the land as was found on April 23, 1985. The damage report (Ex. PW-l/A) was prepared besides lqbalnama (Ex. PW-l/B), which was got signed from the accused. Later he was prosecuted.

4. Substance of accusations was put to the respondent-accused, who pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. According to him he was in possession of the alleged encroached land since the time of his forefathers,

5. On appraisal of the evidence, the learned trial Court acquitted the respondent on the ground that the aforesaid forest was not proved to be demarcated protected forest by any cogent and convincing evidence by the prosecution.

6. Shri C. L. Sharma, Advocate appearing as Special Public Prosecutor for and on behalf of the appellant, vehemently attempted to persuade this Court by submitting that judicial notice of the official Gazette can be taken by this Court to hold that the aforesaid Bhadral forest was demarcated protected forest. According to him the learned Court below has erred in having brushed aside the copy of the notification (Mark X) in respect thereof and thus recording order of acquittal in favour of the respondent/ accused.

7. Sections 29 to 39 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (shortly hereinafter referred to as the Act’) are material. The procedure of declaring protected forest is laid down in section 29 of the Act, which provides that the State Government may by notification in the official Gazette declare the provisions of Chapter IV of the Act applicable to any forest land or wasteland which is not included in a reserved forest, but which is the property of Government, or over which the Government has proprietary rights, or to the whole or any part of the forest produce of which the Government Is entitled. The forest land comprised in such notification is referred to in the Act as protected forest. Sub-section (3) of section 29 of the Act provides for certain inquiries to be made before declaring a forest as the protected forest’. Under section 30, the State Government is authorised inter-alia to declare any trees or class of trees in protected forest to be reserved from the date to be fixed by notification or to prohibit from a date fixed for the removal of any forest produce and the breaking up or clearing for cultivation of any land in a protected forest for such terms, not exceeding thirty years as the State Government thinks fit. Resultantly, the rights of private persons, if any, over such portion shall stand suspended during such term provided that the remainder of such forest be sufficient and in a locality reasonably convenient, for the due exercise of the rights suspended in the portion so closed. The Collector then is required under section 31 to cause translation into the local vernacular of every such notification issued under section 30 to be affixed in a conspicuous place in every town and village in the neighbourhood of the forest comprised in the notification. Section 32 entitles the State Government to make rules to regulate the forest matters set out in the said section including "clearin