FOREST (PROTECTION)
FORCE ACT, 2001
(Act No. VI of 2001)
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR FOREST (PROTECTION)
FORCE ACT, 2001
(Act No. VI of 2001)
CONTENTS
Preamble.
Section.
1. Short t it le, extent and
commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Constitution of the Force.
4. Appointment of Officers and
other ranks of the Force.
5. Certificates to Members of the
Force.
6. Superintendence, control and
administration of the Force.
7. Dismissal, removal etc. of
Members of the Force.
8. Appeal and revision.
9. Duties of the Members of the
Force.
10. Power to arr est without
warrant and procedure to be
followed.
Section.
11. Powers to search without
warrant.
12. Members of the Force to be
considered always on duty.
13. Restrictions respecting right to
form associations etc.
14. Responsibilities of Members of
the Force during suspension.
15. Surrender of certificates, Arms
etc. by persons ceasing to be
Members of the Force.
16. Penalties for neglect of duty
etc.
17. Protection of acts of Members
of the Force.
18. Power to make rules.
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FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 221
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR FOREST (PROTECTION)
FORCE ACT, 2001
(Act No. VI of 2001)
[Received the assent of the Governor on 12th April, 2001 and
published in Government Gazette dated 12th April, 2001].
An Act to provide for the constitution of Forest Protection Force
for better protection and security of the forest property and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature in the
Fifty-second Year of the Republic of India as follows:––
1. Short title, extent and commencement.––(1) This Act may be
called the Jammu and Kashmir Forest (Protection) Force Act, 2001.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of the Jammu and Kashmir State.
1[(3) It shall come into force on such date as may be specified by
notification in the Jammu and Kashmir Government Gazette].
2. Definitions.–– In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires,––
(a) “Director” means the Director of the Force appointed under
sub-section (1) of section 4 ;
(b) “Force” means the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Protection
Force constituted under section 3 ;
(c) “Force Custody” means the arrest or confinement of a Member
of the Force in accordance with rules made under this Act ;
(d) Forest property includes,––
(i) “demarcated forest”, “undemarcated forest”, “village
forests”, “forest produce” as defined in the Jammu and
Kashmir Forest Act, Samvat, 1987 ;
1. Enforced vide SRO 292 dated 5th September, 2003 w.e.f. 5th September, 2003.
222 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
(ii) “government property” as defined in the Jammu and Kashmir
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978 ;
(iii) any other moveable or immoveable property in which the
Forest Department or other related organizations have any
interest ;
(e) “Government” means the Government of Jammu and Kashmir ;
(f) Member of the Force includes every person appointed or
deputed to the Force ;
(g) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;
(h) Words and expressions used but not defined in this Act, shall
have the meaning as assigned to them in the Jammu and
Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978 or the Jammu and
Kashmir Forest Act, Samvat 1987.
3. Constitution of the Force.––(1) There shall be an armed force
of the State called the Forest Protection Force for better protection and
security of the forest property.
(2) The Force shall be the Department of the Government on the
pattern of Police Department in the State.
(3) The Force shall be constituted in such manner and shall consist
of such ranks and number of members as may be prescribed.
(4) Every Member of the Force shall be entitled to such pay and
other allowances as may be prescribed.
4. Appointment of Officers and other ranks of the Force.––
The Government may depute, from the Forest Department, persons to
be the Director, the Joint Directors and Dy. Directors of the Force and
appoint or cause to be appointed persons to other ranks of the Force.
5. Certificates to Members of the Force. ––(l) Every Member
of the Force shall receive a certificate in the form specified in the
Schedule, under the seal of the Director or such other officer as the
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 223
Director may specify in this behalf, by virtue of which the person holding
such certificate shall be vested with the powers and privileges of a
Member of the Force.
(2) Such certificate shall cease to have effect whenever the person
named in it ceases for any reason to be a Member of the Force.
6. Super intendence, control and administ ra tion o f the
Force.––(1) The superintendence of the Force shall vest in the
Government, and subject thereto and to the provisions of this Act
and of any rules made thereunder, the command, supervision and
administration of the Force shall vest in the Director.
(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (l), the administration
of the Force, within such local limits as may be prescribed, shall be
carried on by a Joint Director, a Deputy Director or an Assistant Director
in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of any rules made
thereunder and he shall, subject to any direction that may be given by
the State Government or the Director of the Force, in this behalf,
discharge his functions keeping close liaison with his counterpart having
territorial jurisdiction.
7. Dismissal, removal etc. of Members of the Force.––(l) Subject
to the provisions of section 126 of the Constitution of Jammu and
Kashmir and to such rules as the Government may make under this
Act, the Director may dismiss, suspend or reduce in rank any Member
of the Force not above the rank of Assistant Director whom he thinks
remiss or negligent in the discharge of his duty, or unfit for the same.
(2) Any Superior Officer not below the rank of Deputy Director
may award any one or more of the following punishments to any Member
of the Force who discharges his duty in a careless or negligent manner,
or who by any act of his own renders himself unfit for the discharge
thereof, namely:––
(a) fine to any amount not exceeding fifteen days basic pay ;
(b) confinement to quarters for a period not exceeding fifteen
days, with or without punishment, drill, extra guard, fatigue
224 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
or other duty. The order shall be subject to confirmation by
the Joint Director and in case of Joint Director issuing the
punishment order, it shall be subject to confirmation by the
Director of the Force.
8. Appeal and revision.––(1) Any Member of the Force aggrieved
by an order made under sub-section (1) or clause (a) of sub-section (2)
of section 7 may, within thirty days from the date on which the order is
communicated to him prefer an appeal against the order to the––
(i) Government if the punishment has been awarded by the
Director ; and
(ii) Director if the punishment has been awarded by any other
Member of the Force.
(2) The Government or the Director, as the case may be, may
entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirty days, if
satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing
the appeal in time.
(3) In disposing of an appeal, under sub-section (1) such procedure
shall be followed as may be prescribed :
Provided no order imposing an enhanced penalty under sub-section
(2) shall be made unless reasonable opportunity of being heard has been
given to the person affected by such order.
9. Duties of the Members of the Force.–– It shall be the duty of
every Member of the Force to,––
(a) promptly obey and execute all orders lawfully issued to him
by his superior authority ;
(b) protect and safeguard forest property ;
(c) assist, on requisition, a Forest Officer or an officer of the
Wildlife Department or an officer of the Soil Conservation
Department having territor ial jurisdiction when such
requisition is for the protection of forest property ;
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 225
(d) perform patrolling in the vulnerable areas on systematically
drawn plans and to take such necessary steps required to
protect the forest property with the help of territorial staff or
of its own depending upon the exigencies of the situation ;
(e) detect and to bring offenders to justice and to apprehend all
persons whom he is legally authorized to apprehend and for
whose apprehension sufficient ground exists ; provided that
the territorial staff not below the rank of Range Officer is
informed ; and
(f) to take up such special assignment as may be entrusted to
the Force by the Government from time to time.
10. Power to arrest without warrant and procedure to be
followed.––(1) Any Member of the Force not below the rank of Assistant
Director, may without an order from a Magistrate and without warrant,
arrest any person who––
(i) commits or attempts to commit a cognizable offence under
the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, Samvat 1987 and the
Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978 ;
(ii) voluntarily causes hurt to, or attempts voluntarily to cause
hurt to, or wrongfully restrains or attempts wrongfully to
restrain, or assaults, threatens to assault, or uses or threatens
or attempts to use, criminal force to him or any other member
of the Force in the execution of his duty as such Member, or
with intent to prevent or to deter him from discharging his
duty as such member, or in consequence of any thing done or
attempted to be done by him, in the lawful discharge of his
duty as such member ; or
(iii) has been concerned in, or against whom a reasonable suspi-
cion exists of his having been concerned in, or who is found
taking precautions to conceal his presence under
circumstances which afford reason to believe that he is taking
such precautions with a view to committing a cognizable
offence which relates to forest property.
226 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
(2) The arrestee shall be produced before the nearest Magistrate
within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time
necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Court of the
Magistrate and he shall not be detained in custody beyond the said period
without the authority of magistrate.
(3) Subject to the provisions of sub- section (2), any member of
the force making an arrest under this Act shall without unnecessary
delay take the arrestee to the nearest Police Station with report of
circumstances occasioning the arrest for his eventual custody in the
police lock-up.
(4) The member of the Force carrying out the arrest should bear
accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their
designation.
(5) The member of the Force carrying out the arrest of the arrestee
shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of the arrest and such memo
shall be attested by at least one witness who may either be a member
of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from
where the arrest is made. It shall also be countersigned by the arrestee
and shall contain the time and date of arrest.
(6) A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held
in custody in a police station shall be entitled to have one friend or
relative or other person known to him or having interest in his welfare
being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is
being detained at the particular place unless the attesting witness of the
memo of arrest is himself such friend or relative of the arrestee.
(7) The person arrested shall be made aware of his right to have
someone informed of his arrest as soon as he is put under arrest.
(8) Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest,
referred to above, shall be sent to the magistrate for his record.
(9) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure Samvat,
1989, relating to arrests under that Code shall so far as may be, apply to
arrests under this Act.
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 227
11. Powers to search without warrant.––(1) Whenever any
Member of the Force not below the rank of Assistant Director has
reason to believe that any such offence as is referred to in section 10 is
being committed and that a search warrant cannot be obtained without
affording the offender an opportunity of escaping or of concealing
evidence, he may detain him and search his person and belongings
forthwith and, if he thinks proper, arrest any person whom he has reason
to believe to have committed the offence.
(2) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat
1989, relating to searches under that Code shall so far as may be, apply
to searching under this Act.
12. Members of the Force to be considered always on duty.––
(1) Every Member of the Force shall, for the purposes of this Act, be
considered to be always on duty.
(2) No Member of the Force shall engage himself in any
employment or office other than his duties under this Act.
13. Restrictions respecting right to form associations etc.––(1)
No Member of the Force shall :––
(a) be a Member of, or be associated in any way with, any trade
union, labour union, political association or with any class of
trade unions, labour unions, or political associations ; or
(b) be a Member of, or be associated in any way with, any other
society, institution, association or organisation that is not
recognised as part of the Force or is not of a purely social,
recreational or religious nature ; or
(c) communicate with the press or publish or cause to be
published any book, letter or other document except where
such communication or publication is in the bona fide discharge
of his duties or is of a purely literary, artistic, or scientific
character.
Explanation.––If any question arises as to whether any society,
institution, association or organisation is of a purely
228 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
social, recreational or religious nature under clause (b),
the decision of the Government thereon shall be final.
(2) No Member of the Force shall participate in, or address any
meeting or take part in any demonstration organised by any body or
persons for any political purposes or for such other purposes as may be
prescribed.
14. Responsibil i t ies of Members of the Force during
suspension.–– A Member of the Force shall not by reason of his
suspension from office cease to be Member of the Force; and he shall,
during that period, be subject to the same responsibilities, discipline and
penalties to which he would have been subjected if he was on duty.
15. Surrender of certificates, Arms etc. by persons ceasing to
be Members of the Force.––(1) Every person who for any reason
ceases to be a Member of the Force, shall forthwith surrender to any
superior officer empowered to receive the same, his certificate issued
under section 5, the arms, accoutrements, clothing and other articles
which have been furnished to him for performance of duties as a Member
of the Force.
(2) Any person who wilfully neglects or refuses to surrender his
certificate of appointment, the arms, accoutrements, clothing and other
articles furnished to him, as required by sub-section (1), shall, on
conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend
to six months, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or
with both.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to any article
which, under the orders of the Director, has become the property of the
person to whom the same was furnished.
16. Penalties for neglect of duty etc.––(1) Without prejudice to
the provisions contained in section 7, any Member of the Force who
shall be guilty of any violation of duty or wilful breach or neglect of any
rule or lawful order made by a superior authority, or who shall withdraw
from duties of his office without permission, or who, being absent on
leave, fails, without reasonable cause, to report himself for duty on the
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 229
expiration of the leave, or who engages himself without authority for
any employment other than his duty as a Member of the Force or who
shall be guilty of cowardice may be taken into Force Custody and shall
be convicted by a Judicial Magistrate having jurisdiction with
imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine which may
extend to five thousand rupees or with both.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, Samvat 1989, an offence punishable under this section shall
be cognizable and non-bailable.
(3) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent
any Member from being prosecuted under any other law for any offence
made punishable by that law, or being liable under any such law to any
other or higher penalty or punishment than is provided for such offence
by this section.
17. Protection of acts of Members of the Force.––(1) No suit or
criminal proceeding or other legal proceeding shall be initiated against
any Member of the Force for anything done by him in good faith under
this Act.
(2) No court shall take cognizance of any offence alleged to have
been committed by a Member of the Force while acting or purporting to
act in the discharge of his official duty except with the previous sanction
of the Government or such other authority as the Government may, by
notification in the Government Gazette, appoint in this behalf.
(3) In any suit or proceeding against any Member of the Force for
any act done by him in the discharge of his duties, it shall be lawful for
him to plead that such act was done by him under the orders of a superior
authority.
(4) Any such plea may be proved by the production of the order
directing the act, and if it is so proved, the Member of the Force shall
thereupon be discharged from liability in respect of that act so done by
him, notwithstanding any defect in the jurisdiction of the authority which
issued such order.
230 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
18. Power to make rules.––(1) The Government may, by
notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the
purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing powers, such rules may provide for––
(a) regulating the classes, ranks, grades, pay, remuneration and
other service conditions of Members of the Force ;
(b) regulating the powers and duties of Members of the Force
authorized to exercise any functions by or under this Act ;
(c) prescribing the description, quantity and maintenance of arms,
accoutrements, clothing and other necessary articles to be
furnished to the Members of the Force ;
(d) prescribe conditions for use of arms and ammunition by any
Member of the Force while performing his duties under this
Act ;
(e) prescribing the places of residence of the Members ;
(f) Institution, management and regulation of any fund for any
purpose connected with the administration of the Force ;
(g) regulating the punishment, awards, compensation and ex-
gratia payments to Member of the Force and the procedure
to be followed for the disposal of such cases ;
(h) regulating matters with respect to Force Custody under this
Act, including the procedure to be followed for taking persons
into such custody ;
(i) regulating matters with respect to disposal of cases relating
to investigation, arrest, custody, trial and punishment of
offences triable or punishable under this Act ; and
(j) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed, or in
respect of which rules are required to be made under this Act.
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 231
(3) No rule under clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) shall be
made except the prior consultation of the Home Department.
(4) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as
may be after it is made, before each House of the State Legislature,
while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be
comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if,
before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or
the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any
modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be
made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form
or be of no effect, as the case may be ; so, however, that any such
modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of
anything previously done under that rule.
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