In Brief
Standard Essential Oil Industries & Anr sought to set aside an order confiscating 125 kg of sandalwood oil seized from their premises under the Kerala Forest Act, 1961. The High Court had upheld the confiscation under Section 61A. The Supreme Court held that Section 61A authorizes confiscation only for timber, charcoal, firewood, and ivory—not sandalwood oil. Although sandalwood oil is forest produce, the specific enumeration in Section 61A excludes it. Section 69, which the lower authorities relied upon, is merely a rule of evidence, not a source of confiscation power. The Court allowed the appeal and set aside the confiscation order as lacking jurisdiction.
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