Uttarakhand High Court
Shivani Roy vs District Magistrate on 23 April, 2024
HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT
NAINITAL
THE HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICE MS. RITU BAHRI
AND
THE HON'BLE JUSTICE SRI RAKESH THAPLIYAL
23rd April, 2024
Writ Petition (PIL) No.141 of 2023
Shivani Roy .....Petitioner
Versus
District Magistrate, Nainital & others ........Respondents
Counsel for the petitioner : Mr. Siddhartha Negi, learned
counsel, holding brief of Mr. B.S.
Adhikari, learned counsel.
Counsel for the respondent
nos.1 to 3/State Mr. J.P. Joshi, learned AAG.
Counsel for the respondent Mr. Sushil Salwan, learned counsel,
assisted by Mr. Vikas Srivastava,
and Mr. Akshay Pradhan, learned
counsel.
Judgment: (per Ms. Ritu Bahri, C.J.)
The petitioner in the present public interest
litigation seeking direction restraining the respondent
no.6/Devanya Hotel and Resort Pvt. Ltd, from
constructing, including roads, and further directions to
the respondent no.1/District Magistrate, Nainital, to stop
further construction in the van panchayat forest area,
which is under the control of the respondent no.6.
Further prayer is made to respondent nos.1 to 6, to
remove/demolish all structures such as roads and gates
put up on Van Panchayat Land in the Guni Gaon Gram
Sabha.
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2. On notice of this petition, a counter affidavit
has been filed by the respondent no.2/Divisional Forest
Officer, Nainital. In detail, in paragraph 4 of this
affidavit, it is stated that Forest Range Officer, Bhowali,
had conducted a joint inspection with the Revenue
Department, and in inspection it was found that the
petitioner Smt. Shivani Roy and Mr. Simit Sinha,
authorized representative of this hotel were present
during the joint inspection, and the road belongs to
Khatauni Khata no.9 of Khasra No.171B of Jeeling
Estate. This land is registered in the ownership of
Devanya Hotel and Resort Pvt. Ltd. The land, which is
identified as parking land, is registered in the name of
Devanya Hotel and Resort Pvt. Ltd. This land is recorded
as a bhumidhari in village Jeeling Estate of Gram
Shabha, Guni Gaon. In joint inspection, it was found that
no trees were cut down on the said land, and on the
joint inspection, it was further found that there was no
forest land, or the land of the van panchayat involved in
the instant case. As per the Joint Inspection Committee,
there was no public nuisance on the public way.
3. In paragraph no.5, it is further stated that the
land in question is not a part of any reserve forest
notified under section 20 of Indian Forest Act 1927, and
is not a protected forest under section 29 of the Indian
Forest Act 1927. This land is not a part of Van Panchayat
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Sarana managed under Uttaranchal Panchayati Van
Niyamawali 2005.
4. The report of the Forest Range Officer,
Bhowali dated 20.10.2023, Annexure no.1, and
inspection report dated 05.10.2023 Annexure no.2, a
perusal of the inspection report and the affidavit shows
that the land in dispute is a private land of the
respondent no.6, and is not a part of any reserve forest
notified area under the Indian Forest Act 1927.
5. This counter affidavit was filed in December,
2023, and nothing has been filed by the petitioner to
show that these findings given by the
officials/respondent is incorrect. No further direction is
required to be given in this Public Interest Litigation.
Accordingly, the petition stands disposed of.
___________________________
Ritu Bahri, CJ.
___________________________
Rakesh Thapliyal, J.
Dt: 23rd April, 2024
NR/
