1 2025:CGHC:14468 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 1569 of 2025 1 - Jevan Singh S/o Samay Lal Kanwar Aged About 49 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 2 - Kirti Singh S/o Hira Singh Kanwar Aged About 37 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 3 - Dhan Singh S/o Ram Singh Aged About 36 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 4 - Mansaram S/o Dhan Singh Kanwar Aged About 47 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 5 - Tul Singh S/o Shri Girwar Aged About 44 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 6 - Chamra Singh S/o Shri Ratan Singh Aged About 57 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). Digitally signed by RAGHVENDRA JAT 2 7 - Shivnath Ram S/o Vishwanath Yadav Aged About 60 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 8 - Bhawan Singh S/o Dev Singh Kanwar Aged About 52 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 9 - Giran Singh S/o Shri Ghasiram Kanwar Aged About 47 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 10 - Maharaj Singh S/o Visahu Singh Aged About 50 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 11 - Baliram S/o Jagatram Yadav Aged About 53 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 12 - Giran Singh S/o Hari Singh Kanwar Aged About 50 Years R/o Village- Rigwar Post Pudu Tahsil And Ps Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through- Secretary, Revenue And Disaster (Apda) Management Department Mahanadi Bhawan New Raipur Distt.- Raipur (C.G.). 2 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through- Secretary Forest And Climate Change, Mahanadi Bhawan, Nawa Raipur, Atal Nagar Raipur District- Raipur (C.G.). 3 3 - The Collector Bilaspur District - Bilaspur (C.G.). 4 - The Sdo (Revenue) Ratanpur District- Bilaspur (C.G.). 5 - The Tahsildar Ratanpur Distt.- Bilaspur (C.G.). 6 - The Forest Officer Bilaspur Forest Division District- Bilaspur (C.G.). ... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Dheerendra Pandey, Advocate. For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Anmol Sharma, Panel Lawyer. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 26/03/2025 1. By way of this petition, the petitioners have prayed for following reliefs:- “(1) The Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to allow the petition and set aside the impugned show cause notice (Annexure P/1) issued by the respondent no. 4 & 6 also directed to the respondents stop the entire eviction proceeding against the petitioners (2) This Hon'ble Court be pleased to direct the respondent authority to consider the case of the petitioners and given lease as Adverse possession of the situated land, and given opportunity of hearing to the petitioners and followed the guideline/policy resettlement 4 according to the policy present of the State Government as well as of the Central Government. (3) This Hon'ble Court be pleased to call for the entire record in respect of initiated proceeding for demolition of the petitioners. (4) Any other relief as deemed fit by this Hon'ble Court.” 2. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that the petitioners are residing within the reserved forest area, own a dwelling house, and have received eviction notices from the forest authorities. He would further submit that the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (for short, the Act, 2006), provides for the rehabilitation and settlement of forest tribes, in this regard, the petitioners have made various representations before the forest authorities, but no action has been taken. 3. On the other hand, the learned State counsel would submit that the petitioners are encroachers on forest land, and they have not made any application/representation before the appropriate authority as provided under the Act, 2006. He would further submit that they do not have dwelling houses and the eviction notices have been issued since 2020. 4. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the documents placed on the record. 5 5. Taking into consideration the fact that no application/representation has been moved by the petitioners before the appropriate forest authorities in accordance with the Act, 2006, at this stage, the petition is disposed of reserving the liberty in favour of the petitioners to approach the appropriate authority as provided under the provisions of the Act, 2006. 6. If any representation is made by the petitioners before the concerned authority, the same shall be decided strictly in accordance with the law. 7. Since the petitioners have been residing in the forest area for a long time; no coercive actions shall be taken against them pursuant to the aforesaid notices, till the decision is taken by the authorities on representation of the petitioners. 8. The petitioners are granted 15 days’ time to move a representation before the concerned authority, in turn; the concerned forest authorities shall decide the same within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a representation. 9. With the aforementioned observations and directions, the instant petition is hereby disposed of. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Raghu Jat