Mandamus issued to State Authorities for expeditious determination of forest land rights under the Forest Rights Act.

The 21 petitioners, members of Scheduled Tribes and forest dwellers in Village Jarikhurd, Dahod, claim to have been cultivating land bearing Survey No. 21 (Old Survey Nos. 13 & 12) since 1975.

They sought recognition of their forest rights and the issuance of ‘Sanad’ (title deeds) under the Forest Rights Act.

Despite submitting various proofs—including revenue receipts, inspection reports, and caste certificates—to the District Level Committee, the petitioners alleged that the respondent authorities neither decided their applications nor regularized their possession.

Consequently, they filed this writ petition seeking a mandamus for the allotment of land and to restrain the Forest Department from disturbing their possession.

1. Whether the respondent authorities are under a statutory obligation to decide the pending claims of the petitioners for recognition of forest rights under the FRA.

2. Whether the petitioners are entitled to the regularization of their cultivation on the disputed forest land based on existing government resolutions and judicial directions.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA), and the 2008 Rules framed thereunder, which establish the framework for recognizing and vesting forest rights in forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes.

Rule 12-A and Rule 13 (pertaining to the process of recognizing rights) and Rule 14 and Rule 15 (pertaining to the appellate process).

The principles set by the Division Bench in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 100 of 2011, which mandated the reconsideration of forest claims after proper compliance with statutory rules.

The court noted that the petitioners had sufficiently demonstrated long-term occupation and had approached the District Level Committee with the necessary evidentiary documentation.

Referring to the State Government’s own resolution dated March 12, 1992, and the circular dated October 12, 2011, the court highlighted that there is a defined administrative mechanism for regularizing unauthorized cultivation by forest dwellers.

Since the authorities had failed to act on the petitioners' Dava (claim sheet), the court found that a direction for an expedited, law-abiding decision was necessary to fulfill the legislative intent of the FRA.

It directed the respondent State Authorities to decide the petitioners' claims as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with the law.

The court specifically ordered that the petitioners must be given an opportunity to produce all relevant documents and a fair hearing before a final decision is reached.

Rule was made absolute to this extent.