THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE VILAS V. AFZULPURKAR CRP NO. 1491 OF 2009 Date of Judgment: 21.10.2011 Between: Divisional Forest Officer, Bellampalli …Petitioner and Forest Settlement Officer/Joint Collector, Adilabad ..Respondent THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE VILAS V. AFZULPURKAR C.R.P. NO. 1491 OF 2009 ORDER: Divisional Forest Officer, Bellampalli preferred an appeal against the order of Forest Settlement Officer/Joint Collector, Adilabad under Section 13 (4) of the A.P. Forest Act. The said order of the Joint Collector and Forest Settlement Officer, dated 12.12.2006 had declared Sy.No. 12 to the extent of 395.27 acres and Sy.No. 9 to the extent of 343.00 acres of Sonapur and Abbapur villages of Rebbena Mandal and Tandur Mandal respectively as Government lands and not forest lands. The said appeal preferred in December, 2007 was beyond the period of 90 days prescribed under section 13 of the Forest Act and hence an application for condonation of delay of 283 days was filed by the Divisional Forest Officer. The court below has rejected the said application under the impugned order. Hence this revision. Heard learned Government Pleader appearing for the petitioner. Though the respondent was served, nobody appeared for him. The learned Government Pleader submits that the dispute of the present nature where the land is claimed by the Forest Department as well as Revenue Department could not be resolved administratively which led to the order having been passed by the Forest Settlement Officer/Joint Collector holding the lands as Government lands. Since the interest of the Forest Department was seriously affected thereby, and the lands within the reserve forest came to be notified as Government lands beyond the purview of the Forest Department, the appeal had to be filed before the lower appellate court, as the order of the Forest Settlement Officer amounts to de- reserving the reserved forest lands. It is also stated that after the order of the Forest Settlement Officer was received, there were efforts made to resolve the issue on administrative side and both departments consumed sufficient time in resolving the issue and ultimately the petitioner had to prefer the appeal, but there was delay in preferring the appeal. It is noteworthy that no counter- affidavit was filed before the lower appellate court, but the said administrative grounds were not considered sufficient to condone the delay. I have seen the impugned order of the lower appellate court which rejected the application for condonation on the grounds that the administrative delay is no reason to seek condonation and secondly on the ground that the District Collector, Revenue Divisional Officer and Mandal Revenue Officer are not made parties and thereby necessary parties are not impleaded. In my view both the said reasons are unsustainable as the administrative reasons as mentioned in the affidavit are not entirely that of the petitioner/forest department, but are also on account of examination and review by the revenue department as well which is the respondent herein. The revenue office i.e., Joint Collector also exercises functions as Forest Settlement Officer, the respondent herein. The second reason given by the lower appellate court is also not sustainable as the District Collector or Revenue Divisional Officer or Mandal Revenue Officer were not necessary parties and as such the appeal could not have been dismissed for non-joinder of those parties. The reasons given by the Forest Divisional Officer in the affidavit supporting the application for condonation ought to have been accepted by the lower appellate court especially in the absence of any counter affidavit. In the circumstances, the impugned order is liable to be set aside and it is accordingly set aside. The revision petition is allowed, IA No. 1487 of 2007 shall stand allowed, the lower appellate court shall number the appeal, if it is otherwise in order and consider and dispose of the same in accordance with law, after hearing both sides. No costs. _________________________ VILAS V. AFZULPURKAR, J Dt. 21.10.2011 KR