01 Mar 2024
a. Dictionary meaning of ‘forest‘ to be followed till identification of forest lands is completed as per the relevant rules
On 19 February 2024, the Supreme Court, by way of an interim order in Ashok Kumar Sharma, Indian Forest Service (Retd.) v Union of India1, directed all the States and Union Territories to follow the dictionary meaning of ‘forest‘, as identified in its earlier judgment in T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v Union of India2 (T.N. Godavarman).
This interim order was passed in a petition contending that (a) the definition of ‘forest‘ as per amendments made to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (2023 Amendments) is much narrower, wherein only land either notified as a forest or specifically recorded as a forest in a government record, qualifies as a ‘forest‘; and (b) Rule 16 of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023 requires preparation of a consolidated record of forest lands, and since this process has not yet been completed, applying the amended definition may lead to the diversion of forest land to non-forest use in the meantime.
Through this interim order, the Supreme Court has restored its earlier order in T.N. Godavarman, the scope of which was sought to be narrowed down by the 2023 Amendments. This is an interim measure until the exercise of consolidating records is completed.
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