In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the Forest Department's claim to 162 acres in Village Kasmandi Khurd. Land vested in the State under the U.P. Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950, and was subsequently declared a protected forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. The Court held that entries in revenue records do not confer title or create enforceable rights without written contracts required under the Forest Act. Since no valid lease agreement existed, the lessees' claims failed. The High Court's decision allowing the writ petition was reversed, and the Deputy Director of Consolidation's order restoring the land to the Forest Department was restored.
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