Orissa HC disposes 5-decade-old forest contract litigation, imposes penalty on department

Cuttack, Sep 10 (PTI) Disposing a litigation which was initiated nearly 50 years ago, the Orissa High Court has directed the state’s forest department to pay compensation to two registered contractors, who could not fell trees despite making payment to the government for doing so.

In a ruling, Justice Dixit Krishna Sripad held that the forest department must supply to the contractors the agreed quantity of logs through the Orissa Forest Development Corporation or any other agency within three months.

The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on the forest department by way of exemplary costs, citing their responsibility for “a slew of avoidable litigations” that forced the contractors to fight for decades.

One of the two contractors died in the meantime, and his legal heir entered into the litigation.

The state government granted permission to a contractor to cut trees at Dudhuliani in Mayurbhanj district in 1975-76. However, another forest contractor challenged this, claiming that he was also given the permission to clear trees from the same forest. A case was filed in this regard in 1978.

Subsequently, the two sides reached a settlement which was also approved by the state government and they made the requisite payments. However, they could not clear trees form the forest as a central legislation, the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, came into force which prohibited felling of trees in reserve forests.

Both parties filed a civil petition at a court in Mayrbhanj district which rejected their petitions, following which they moved the Orissa High Court and subsequently to the Supreme Court. The apex court, in an order in 1993, ordered the state government to return the money of the contractors.

However, the contractors did not get the money from the forest department.

Unable to get back their money, the two contractors moved the Orissa High Court again and filed a case seeking execution of the Supreme Court order.

While disposing the case on Monday, the Court permitted the state’s forest department (Debtors) to pay the present market value of the logs, minus the deficit payments with accrued interest, to the contractors within the same three-month window.

Justice Sripad clarified that this amount may be recovered from the erring officials in accordance with the law.

In his verdict, the judge mentioned that the Privy Council had observed in 1872 that the difficulties of a litigant in India begin when he has obtained a decree.

“The unhappy scenario has not much changed since then to this day. In the case at hand, nearly five decades having lapsed in the court corridors, not even a fig leaf has fallen into the pocket of Decree Holders.

“Delayed justice is an egregious form of human rights violation. At least, as a concession to the shortness of human life, litigation longevity needs to be shortened by devising new techniques. It is high time that the stakeholders converge their ideas to achieve it,” Justice Sripad added. PTI COR AAM NN