The accused was charged of an offence under section 6 of the Forest Regulation but was acquitted by the Munsiff Magistrate Reasi. Against this order of acquittal the present appeal has been filed on behalf of the Government.

The allegation against the accused is that on 7th Har 1994 he set fire to a forest area known as Mongri Banaot in Tehsil Reasi and caused damage worth Rs. 17l. Two prosecution witnesses Desu and Thibi Chamar appeared and deposed that they actually saw the accused Shibram setting fire to the forest but these witnesses were not believed by the trial magistrate. We have carefully examined the record and we are not impressed by the departmental enquiry made by the officials of the Forest Department in the case. It appears to us from the record that the departmental enquiry was made in a most perfunctory and irresponsible manner. The fire took place on 7th Har 1994 and on the next day i, e., 8th Har 1994 reports of the occurrence were made by Daulat Ram and Suram Singh Forest Guards to the local Range Officer. Lala Vasdev was the local Forester at the time and he admitted in his statement that he went to enquire about the occurrence on the spot for the first time on 22nd Assuj 1994 i. e., three and a half months after the occurrence. This delay of about three and a half months has not been satisfactorily explained by the Forest Department officials who appeared as witnesses in the case. Lala Vas Dev stated that although a report of the occurrence was sent by the Forest Guards to the Range officer on 8th Har 1994 he i e. Lala Vasdev received orders from the Range Officer on 10th Bhadon 1994 to go and make an enquiry on the spot. Now if the first report of the occurrence was received by the Range Officer on 8th Har 1994 it has not been explained as to why the Range Officer took more than two months to order the Forester to enquire about the case on the spot. Similarly has not been explained that if the Forester received order to go on the spot on 10th Bhadon 1994 why he did not comp with the order till 22nd Assuj 1994 i. e. for about one and half month. The Forester enquired on the spot on 22nd Assuj 1994 and then he referred the matter to the Police. Bakhshi Chuni Lal, Officer-in-charge Police Chowki Katra went to the spot on 20th Maghar 1994 i. e. about 5 and a half months after the occurrence.

The accused was challaned on 7th Poh 1994.

Apart from the delays that took place in the departmental enquiry we are not impressed by the prosecution evidence that was produced in the case. Daulat Ram and Suram Singh Forest Guards made their first reports about the occurrence to the Range Officer on 8th Har 1994 and in these reports the names of Amirchand Lambardar, Shib Ram and Bhagtu were mentioned as culprits. Daulat Ram and Suram Singh Forest Guards stated that they first made their own confidential enquiries about the occurrence and as a result of these enquiries they came to the conclusion that the offence had been committed by the three persons named above i. e. Amirchand Lambardar, Shib Ram and Bhagtu. The Guards also stated that after submitting their reports to the local Range Officer they met the eye-witnesses Desu and Thibi and from these witnesses they came to know for the first time that the fire had been caused by Shib Ram a one and not by the other two persons Amirchand Lambardar and Bhagtu. If the Guards really got this definite information about the occurrence from the two eye-witnesses it was their duty to send mother report to the Range Officer informing him as to what they had heard from the eye-witnesses subsequent to the submission of their previous reports. But the Guards admitted that no further report conveying information received from the eye-witnesses was submitted by them to the Forest Range Officer or the Forester. The Guards also admitted that after submitting their first reports they had various occasions to see the Range Officer and the forester but they never informed any of these two offic

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