THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.4403 of 2010 Date:20.7.2010 Between: Soyam Laxmaiah and others. ..... PETITIONERS AND The Forest Range Officer, Bhadrachalam (North), Bhadrachalam and others. .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioners: Mr. P.V.RamanaC. Damodar Reddy Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5: G.P. for Forests The Court made the following : THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.4403 of 2010 Order: This writ petition is filed for a mandamus to declare the action of the respondents in seeking to high-handedly dispossess the petitioners from their residential houses contrary to Section 4(5) of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (for short ‘the Act’), pending their applications for recognition of their rights as illegal and unconstitutional. I have heard Sri P.V.Ramana, learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Government Pleader for Forests. The petitioners are residents of Adiviramavaram Village, Dummugudem Mandal, Khammam District. They claim to belong to Scheduled Tribe community. The petitioners pleaded that right from the time of their ancestors, they have been residing in Adiviramavaram Village by raising thatched houses in compartment No.42 of Arlagudem Reserve Forest. According to the petitioners, they have made applications on 20.7.2008 before the Forest Rights’ Committee. However, while the applications are pending for conferment of rights under the provisions of the Act, the respondents are allegedly interfering with their possession. At the hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioners has drawn the attention of this Court to the F.I.R. registered against the petitioners on 3.11.2005 stating that the petitioners have illegally occupied the Reserve Forest land and submitted that under the Act, if the persons belonging to the Scheduled Tribes were found in occupation of the Forest land as on 13.12.2005, they are entitled to be conferred with the rights over the land in their occupation and that the very fact that the forest offences have been registered on 3.11.2005 itself shows that they are in occupation of the forest land. He further submitted that under the provisions of the Act, a detailed procedure is prescribed for conferment of rights by the District Level Committee and that even when this process is pending, forest officials are not justified in seeking to evict the petitioners. In the counter affidavit filed by the Divisional Forest Officer, Bhadrachalam (North) Division, the claim of the petitioners is denied. It is averred that the preliminary offence report dated 3.11.2005 reveals that the petitioners have cleared the bush growth unauthorisedly with a mala fide intention and that they are not entitled to conferment of any rights under the provisions of the Act. The question whether the petitioners are entitled to be conferred with the rights under the provisions of the Act or not is required to be adjudicated by the District Level Committee constituted under the provisions of the Act. The plea of the petitioners that their applications filed for conferment of such rights are pending is not disputed. As rightly pointed out by the learned counsel for the petitioners, the F.I.R. registered against the petitioners shows that they were found in possession of the property on 3.11.2005, albeit on the allegation that they are in unauthorised possession. As the Act recognises the rights of the persons, who were in possession of the property as on the cut off date, i.e., 13.12.2005, the District Level Committee needs to examine the claim of the petitioners. Inasmuch as the possession of the petitioners is not disputed, the forest officials shall not evict them or take any coercive steps against them till the District Level Committee decides the rights of the petitioners. Subject to the above observations, the writ petition is disposed of. As a sequel to disposal of main petition, W.V.M.P. No.1403 of 2010 is disposed of as infructuous. __________________________ C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY,J DATE: 20th July, 2010 pnb