Goalpara Court Dismisses Ownership Claim Over Pancharatna Hill Reserve Forest

A CORRESPONDENT

GOALPARA: The Court of the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Goalpara, has rejected a plaint seeking declaration of right, title, and interest over a plot of land falling within the Pancharatna Hill reserve forest, holding that the claim was barred by the provisions of law.

Civil Judge (Senior Division) Shakti Sharma passed the order on August 4, 2026, after considering the evidence submitted by the plaintiff, the report of the Collector of Goalpara Revenue District, and the relevant documents.

According to the court order, the disputed land forms part of the Pancharatna Hill reserve forest, which was declared a reserved forest under a Forest Department notification dated April 22, 1966. The court noted that no claim or objection had been filed by the then pattadar against the notification.

The court observed that, following the declaration of the land as reserved forest, the original pattadar, Nurul Hoque, ceased to hold rights over the land. Consequently, sale deeds executed by his legal heirs in favour of the plaintiffs could not confer valid title over the disputed property.

The court relied upon provisions of the Assam Land Revenue Regulation, 1886, the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891, and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, among other legal provisions. It particularly referred to Section 21 of the Assam Forest Regulation, under which no right of any description can be acquired in or over a reserved forest except through legally recognised succession, grant, or contract with the requisite government sanction.

The court also referred to the Supreme Court's judgment in MC Mehta vs Kamal Nath (1997), which recognised the Public Trust Doctrine and emphasised the government's duty to protect natural resources, including forests, for the benefit of the general public.

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