Allahabad High Court
SUBHAGIYA AND 8 OTHERSversusUNION OF INDIA AND 3 OTHERS
- Decided
Holding
The Collector must decide the petitioners' pending application in accordance with the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, the 2008 Rules, and the Forest Act, 2006, and no coercive eviction may be undertaken pending such disposal.
Summary
The petitioners, claiming to be forest dwellers, sought protection under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, asserting that the land they occupy is tribal land despite being within a reserved forest. The respondents, including the Union of India and forest authorities, contended that the petitioners' applications were pending before the Collector. The Court held that any action against the petitioners must follow Rule 8 of the 2008 Rules and the procedural requirements of the Forest Act, 2006. Accordingly, the Collector was directed to decide the pending application within three months and to ensure compliance with both statutes. The Court also ordered that no coercive eviction action be taken for four months from the date of the order.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioners, as forest dwellers, are entitled to protection under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 despite the land being in a reserved forest.
- Whether any eviction or dispossession can be effected without complying with Rule 8 of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Rules, 2008 and the Forest Act, 2006.
Legislation cited
- Forest Act, 2006
- Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
- Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Rules, 2008 — s. Rule 8
Subjects
- forest rights
- scheduled tribes
- forest dwellers
- eviction
- Rule 8
- writ petition
- land dispute
- forest law
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - C No. - 9377 of 2026
Subhagiya And 8 Others
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
Union Of India And 3 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Satish Kumar Mishra
Counsel for Respondent(s) : A.S.G.I., C.S.C., Pradeep Singh
Court No. - 2
HON'BLE ATUL SREEDHARAN, J.
HON'BLE SIDDHARTH NANDAN, J.
1. Heard Sri Satish Kumar Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioners and
Sri Anshul Nigam, learned Standing Counsel for the State respondents.
2. Petitioners claim to be forest dwellers upon a piece of land which the
respondent-forest authorities claimed to be its own land.
3. It is argued by learned counsel for the petitioners that petitioners are
protected under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. It is submitted that no
action of dispossession/ throwing them out of the land claiming to be
reserved for forest area could have been taken place except by following
the procedure prescribed under Rule 8 of the Scheduled Tribes and Other
Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Rules, 2008.
4. Learned Standing Counsel submits that petitioners application are still
pending consideration before the Collector Sonbhadra, who may be
directed to dispose of the same in accordance with law.
5. Having heard learned counsel for the respective parties and having
perused the records, in our considered view, if the petitioners belong to
scheduled tribes and are having possession of some land under the
impression that it is a tribal land though the land falls in reserved forest
area, any proceedings shall be undertaken against them only by following
the procedure prescribed under Rule 8 of Rules, 2008 and while Collector
would examine the application of the petitioners, he will ensure also that
the procedure prescribed under the Forest Act, 2006 and Regulations
WRIC No. 9377 of 2026
2
framed thereunder are fully complied with.
6. The Collector concerned shall be passing appropriate order upon the
pending application of the petitioners in accordance with law within a
maximum period of three months from the date of production of certified
copy of this order.
7. Until such disposal of the application or for the period of four months
from today, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioners to
evict them from the land in question.
(Siddharth Nandan,J.) (Atul Sreedharan,J.)
March 19, 2026
piyush
Digitally signed by :-
PIYUSH KUMAR
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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