JUDGMENT :

1. The petitioners have filed the present writ petition seeking enforcement of their forest rights belonging to the category of Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (O.T.F.D.), as they are members of other backward classes and have been cultivating the forest land for several years. Further prayer has been made for issuance of direction upon the concerned respondents to expedite the process of recognition/ vesting of forest rights in favour of the petitioners, as the settlement process under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (hereinafter to be referred as ‘the Act, 2006’) has been lingering for more than seven years and during pendency of the same, the respondent authorities have been harassing the petitioners by initiating different proceedings including institution of criminal cases.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioner no.1 has claimed his forest rights over the forest land appertaining to Khata no.81/50, plot no.1436/765, measuring an area of 7.50 acre, whereas the petitioner no.2 has claimed his forest rights through his sons, namely, Arvind Rana and Santu Rana over the forest land appertaining to Khata no.81/50, plot nos.1436/765 & 1348/671, measuring an area of 8.07 acres and 6.09 acres, respectively. The petitioner no.3 has also claimed his forest right over the forest land appertaining to Khata no.81/50, plot no.1436/765, measuring an area of 2.00 acres. The aforesaid land over which the petitioners have claimed their forest rights are situated at village Gargoma forest, Block Bariyatu, District Latehar.

3. It is further submitted that Gargoma is a forest village, as defined under Section 2(f) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The petitioners are the members of Gargoma Gram Sabha and they belong to the category of Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) and they have always been dependent on forest or forest land for their livelihood.

4. It is also submitted that the petitioners belong to other backward classes and they have been occupying and cultivating their respective claimed forest land for many generations well before 13th December, 2005, the date of reference for accruing the forest rights in terms with Section 4(3) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The petitioners’ claim over their respective forest land was accepted and recommended by the resolution of the concerned Gram Sabha after conducting inspection as also physical verification along with forest officials. It is further submitted that Sub Divisional Level Committee accepted the claim of the petitioners over their respective forest land after examining the documents submitted in support of their claim and recommended for issuing “Pattas” in favour of the petitioners. In the meantime, on 16th December, 2021, the forest officials of Social Forestry, Balumath Forest Range, Latehar came to the village Gargoma and dug pits on the occupied and cultivated forest land of the petitioners.

5. In sum and substance, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that though the Sub Divisional Level Committee has found the claim of the petitioners for settlement of the respective land under the Act, 2006 to be genuine, they are not aware as to what step has been taken by the respondents thereafter. If the said Committee had found the claim of the petitioners to be genuine, they were required to make positive recommendation to the District Level Committee (DLC) for appropriate decision with respect to settlement of the said land. On the one hand, the respondent authorities have not taken final decision on the petitioners’ claim of forest right over the land in question and, on the other hand, the forest officials have been harassing the petitioners by initiating different proceedings including institution of criminal cases against them. The respondents have thus violated the provisions of Section 4(5) of the Act, 2006, which mandates that no member of forest dwelling Scheduled