In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the Forest Department's claim over land in Village Kasmandi Khurd, Lucknow. The dispute concerned whether forest land notified under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, vested with the Forest Department or remained with lessees despite revenue record entries in their names. The Court held that once the State publishes a Section 4 notification declaring land as reserved forest, rights vest with the Forest Department and no other entity can acquire rights without written Government agreement. Revenue records alone confer no title. The Gaon Sabha's grant of lease to the respondents was invalid. The Court restored the Deputy Director of Consolidation's order correcting revenue entries to the Forest Department's name.
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