Bombay High Court
Asif Dawood PatelversusState of Maharashtra,
- Decided
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
Holding
The petitioners are permitted to file a representation before the Deputy Conservator of Forests, and the Scrutiny Committee shall adjudicate the matter expeditiously.
Summary
The petitioners challenged the mutation of their lands to ‘Private Forest’ without compliance with Section 35 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. The High Court, recalling its earlier directions in Writ Petition No.1536 of 2017 and Writ Petition No.5344/2026, ordered that the petitioners be allowed to file a representation before the Deputy Conservator of Forests. The Court directed that the representation be placed before the Scrutiny Committee, which must follow the Government Resolution dated 13 August 2026. The Scrutiny Committee was instructed to adjudicate the pleadings expeditiously. Consequently, the writ petitions were disposed of, and any interim applications were also dismissed.
Issues considered
- Whether the mutation of the petitioners' lands to ‘Private Forest’ was effected without observing the procedure prescribed under Section 35 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
- Whether the petitioners may be permitted to file a representation before the Deputy Conservator of Forests and the Scrutiny Committee for redressal of their grievance.
Legislation cited
- Indian Forest Act, 1927 — s. 35
Subjects
- Indian Forest Act
- Section 35
- Private Forest
- Representation
- Scrutiny Committee
- Land mutation
- High Court of Bombay
Judgment
15-WP-8927-2026.odt
rajshree
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.8927 OF 2026
Asif Dawood Patel & Anr. ....Petitioners
V/S
State of Maharashtra & Ors. ....Respondents
Mr.Atharva Bhingardeve for the Petitioner.
Ms.S.A. Prabhune, AGP for the State.
CORAM : BHARATI DANGRE &
ASHISH S. CHAVAN, JJ
DATE : 9th SEPTEMBER 2026
P.C. :
1 In the wake of the directions issued by us in a bunch of Writ
Petitions, the lead Petition being Writ Petition No.1536 of 2017,
decided on 23rd July, 2026, as well as the directions issued in Writ
Petition No.5344/2026 decided on 24/08/2026, we deem it
appropriate to permit the Petitioners to prefer a representation to
the Deputy Conservator of Forests, and permit the Petition to be
treated as a representation to be placed before the Scrutiny
Committee which shall follow the mandate as set out in the
Government Resolution dated 13th August, 2026, issued by the
Revenue and Forest Department, streaming for redressal of
grievance of those who claim that their lands have been wrongly
Digitally signed
RAJSHREE by RAJSHREE
KISHOR KISHOR MORE
MORE Date: 2026.09.10
18:04:47 +0530
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15-WP-8927-2026.odt
mutated as ‘Private Forest’ without following the procedure laid
down in Section 35 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
All the pleadings shall be adjudicated by the scrutiny
committee in expeditious manner.
2 With the aforesaid directions, the writ petition(s) stands
disposed of.
Interim Application, if any, also stands disposed of.
[ASHISH S. CHAVAN, J.] [BHARATI DANGRE, J.]
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