A court in Maharashtra`s Palghar district has acquitted three persons accused of assaulting forest officials while they were removing an encroachment, citing serious inconsistencies in evidence and questioning the legality of the forest department`s actions, reported news agency PTI.
Additional sessions judge A R Rahane acquitted Ravina Ravindra Dalvi, Ravindra Laxman Dalvi, and Kalpesh Dundaji Mor of charges, including assault on a public servant and voluntarily causing hurt, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), reported PTI.
A copy of the order dated October 16 was made available on Monday.
As per the first information report (FIR) on July 7, 2020, the trio allegedly assaulted forest officials with an axe while they were attempting to remove an alleged encroachment on a plot, reported PTI.
The Palghar court found that the prosecution had insufficient evidence to prove that the land was legally classified as forest land.
The Palghar court cited section 4(5) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which stipulates that “no member of a forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribe or other traditional forest dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete”, reported PTI.
The court, in its order, stated, “It is not the case of prosecution that the accused were given any prior intimation or opportunity of hearing before removal of the alleged encroachment. Overall circumstances show that the element of lawful discharge of duty is absent,” reported PTI.
It further observed that section 353 (use assault or criminal force against a public servant in the execution of their duty, or to prevent them from doing so) of the IPC “cannot be allowed to become a tool in the hands of unscrupulous persons to cover up outright illegality”, reported PTI.
The court also noted that the absence of the seized axe, although the accused was taken to the police station immediately, created doubt as to whether it had been used.
Ultimately, it concluded, “It cannot be said that the accused intended to deter a public servant from discharging duty” since the encroachment was not proven to be on forest land and was not being removed legally, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
