The Indian Forest Act, 1927

Preamble

THE INDIAN FOREST ACT, 1927

ACT NO. 16 OF 1927¹

[21 st September, 1927.] An Act to consolidate the law relating to forests, the transit of forest-produce and the duty leviable on timber and other forest-produce.

WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate the law relating to forests, the transit of forest-produce and the duty leviable on timber and other forest-produce;

It is hereby enacted as follows:--

What this Act covers

Sections

Type to filter. 88 sections.

1. 1Short title and extent
2. 2Interpretation clause
3. 3Power to reserve forests
4. 4Notification by State Government
5. 5Bar of accrual of forest-rights
6. 6Proclamation by Forest Settlement-officer
7. 7Inquiry by Forest Settlement-officer
8. 8Powers of Forest Settlement-officer
9. 9Extinction of rights
10. 10Treatment of claims relating to practice of shifting cultivation
11. 11Power to acquire land over which right is claimed
12. 12Order on claims to rights of pasture or to forest-produce
13. 13Record to be made by Forest Settlement-officer
14. 14Record where he admits claim
15. 15Exercise of rights admitted
16. 16Commutation of rights
17. 17Appeal from order passed under section 11, section 12, section 15 or section 16
18. 18Appeal under section 17
19. 19Pleaders
20. 20Notification declaring forest reserved
21. 21Publication of translation of such notification in neighbourhood of forest
22. 22Power to revise arrangement made under section 15 or section 18
23. 23No right acquired over reserved forest, except as here provided
24. 24Rights not to be alienated without sanction
25. 25Power to stop ways and water-courses in reserved forests
26. 26Acts prohibited in such forests
27. 27Power to declare forest no longer reserved
28. 28Formation of village-forests
29. 29Protected forests
30. 30Power to issue notification reserving trees, etc
31. 31Publication of translation of such notification in neighbourhood
32. 32Power to make rules for protected forests
33. 33Penalties for acts in contravention of notification under section 30 or of rules under section 32
34. 34Nothing in this Chapter to prohibit acts done in certain cases
35. 35Protection of forests for special purposes
36. 36Power to assume management of forests
37. 37Expropriation of forests in certain cases
38. 38Protection of forests at request of owners
39. 39Power to impose duty on timber and other forest-produce
40. 40Limit not to apply to purchase-money or royalty
41. 41Power to make rules to regulate transit of forest-produce
42. 41APowers of Central Government as to movements of timber across customs frontiers
43. 42Penalty for breach of rules made under section 41
44. 43Governments and Forest-officers not liable for damage to forest-produce at depot
45. 44All persons bound to aid in case of accident at depot
46. 45Certain kinds of timber to be deemed property of Government until title thereto proved, and may be collected accordingly
47. 46Notice to claimants of drift-timber
48. 47Procedure on claim preferred to such timber
49. 48Disposal of unclaimed timber
50. 49Government and its officers not liable for damage to such timber
51. 50Payments to be made by claimant before timber is delivered to him
52. 51Power to make rules and prescribe penalties
53. 52Seizure of property liable to confiscation
54. 53Power to release property seized under section 52
55. 54Procedure thereupon
56. 55Forest-produce, tools, etc., when liable to confiscation
57. 56Disposal, on conclusion of trial for forest-offence, of produce in respect of which it was committed
58. 57Procedure when offender not known, or cannot be found
59. 58Procedure as to perishable property seized under section 52
60. 59Appeal from orders under section .55, section 56 or section 57
61. 60Property when to vest in Government
62. 61Saving of power to release property seized
63. 62Punishment for wrongful seizure
64. 63Penalty for counterfeiting or defacing marks on trees and timber and for altering boundary-marks
65. 64Power to arrest without warrant
66. 65Power to release on a bond a person arrested
67. 66Power to prevent commission of offence
68. 67Power to try offences summarily
69. 68Power to compound offences and impose penalties
70. 69Presumption that forest-produce belongs to Government
71. 70Cattle-trespass Act, 1871, to apply
72. 71Power to alter fines fixed under that Act
73. 72State Government may invest Forest-officers with certain powers
74. 73Forest-officers deemed public servants
75. 74Indemnity for acts done in good faith
76. 75Forest-officers not to trade
77. 76Additional powers to make rules
78. 77Penalties for breach of rules
79. 78Rules when to have force of law
80. 79Persons bound to assist Forest-officers and police-officers
81. 80Management of forests the joint property of Government and other persons
82. 81Failure to perform service for which a share in produce of Government forest is enjoyed
83. 82Recovery of money due to Government
84. 83Lien on forest-produce for such money
85. 84Land required under this Act to be deemed to be needed for a public purpose under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894
86. 85Recovery of penalties due under bond
87. 85ASaving for rights of Central Government
88. 86[Repealed.]

Schedules

This Act has 1 schedule. A schedule is published as a document of its own; the text is reproduced on its page where it has been read, and the document is mirrored here either way.

Rules made under this Act

40 sets of Rules. India Code publishes Rules as a record and a document rather than as text, so these are indexed here and not reproduced. All Rules.

Related Acts

Ordinances

India Code records no parent Act for an ordinance, so these are tied to this Act by their own titles and their dates rather than by anything the source states. An ordinance is made when Parliament is not sitting and lapses six weeks into the next session unless it is enacted.

All Ordinances