The Indian Forest Act, 1927 – All Sections

An Act to consolidate the law relating to forests, the transit of forest-produce and the duty leviable on timber and other forest-produce.

The Indian Forest Act, 1927 has 88 sections in 13 chapters, amended 20 times. Each link below opens the official text of that section. Official PDF on India Code.

The Indian Forest Act, 1927 PDF

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Official copy of the Act from India Code (Legislative Department, Government of India).

All sections of the Indian Forest Act, 1927

Chapter I: PRELIMINARY

Chapter II: OF RESERVED FORESTS

  • Section 3 – Power to reserve forests
  • Section 4 – Notification by State Government
  • Section 5 – Bar of accrual of forest-rights
  • Section 6 – Proclamation by Forest Settlement-officer
  • Section 7 – Inquiry by Forest Settlement-officer
  • Section 8 – Powers of Forest Settlement-officer
  • Section 9 – Extinction of rights
  • Section 10 – Treatment of claims relating to practice of shifting cultivation
  • Section 11 – Power to acquire land over which right is claimed
  • Section 12 – Order on claims to rights of pasture or to forest-produce
  • Section 13 – Record to be made by Forest Settlement-officer
  • Section 14 – Record where he admits claim
  • Section 15 – Exercise of rights admitted
  • Section 16 – Commutation of rights
  • Section 17 – Appeal from order passed under section 11, section 12, section 15 or section 16
  • Section 18 – Appeal under section 17
  • Section 19 – Pleaders
  • Section 20 – Notification declaring forest reserved
  • Section 21 – Publication of translation of such notification in neighbourhood of forest
  • Section 22 – Power to revise arrangement made under section 15 or section 18
  • Section 23 – No right acquired over reserved forest, except as here provided
  • Section 24 – Rights not to be alienated without sanction
  • Section 25 – Power to stop ways and water-courses in reserved forests
  • Section 26 – Acts prohibited in such forests
  • Section 27 – Power to declare forest no longer reserved

Chapter III: OF VILLAGE-FORESTS

Chapter IV: OF PROTECTED FORESTS

  • Section 29 – Protected forests
  • Section 30 – Power to issue notification reserving trees, etc
  • Section 31 – Publication of translation of such notification in neighbourhood
  • Section 32 – Power to make rules for protected forests
  • Section 33 – Penalties for acts in contravention of notification under section 30 or of rules under section 32
  • Section 34 – Nothing in this Chapter to prohibit acts done in certain cases

Chapter V: OF THE CONTROL OVER FORESTSAND LANDSNOTBEINGTHE PROPERTY OF GOVERNMENT

  • Section 35 – Protection of forests for special purposes
  • Section 36 – Power to assume management of forests
  • Section 37 – Expropriation of forests in certain cases
  • Section 38 – Protection of forests at request of owners

Chapter VI: OFTHE DUTY ON TIMBERAND OTHER FOREST-PRODUCE

  • Section 39 – Power to impose duty on timber and other forest-produce
  • Section 40 – Limit not to apply to purchase-money or royalty

Chapter VII: OFTHE CONTROLOF TIMBERANDOTHERFOREST-PRODUCE IN TRANSIT

  • Section 41 – Power to make rules to regulate transit of forest-produce
  • Section 41A – Powers of Central Government as to movements of timber across customs frontiers
  • Section 42 – Penalty for breach of rules made under section 41
  • Section 43 – Governments and Forest-officers not liable for damage to forest-produce at depot
  • Section 44 – All persons bound to aid in case of accident at depot

Chapter VIII: OF THE COLLECTIONOF DRIFTAND STRANDED TIMBER

  • Section 45 – Certain kinds of timber to be deemed property of Government until title thereto proved, and may be collected accordingly
  • Section 46 – Notice to claimants of drift-timber
  • Section 47 – Procedure on claim preferred to such timber
  • Section 48 – Disposal of unclaimed timber
  • Section 49 – Government and its officers not liable for damage to such timber
  • Section 50 – Payments to be made by claimant before timber is delivered to him
  • Section 51 – Power to make rules and prescribe penalties

Chapter IX: PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE

  • Section 52 – Seizure of property liable to confiscation
  • Section 53 – Power to release property seized under section 52
  • Section 54 – Procedure thereupon
  • Section 55 – Forest-produce, tools, etc., when liable to confiscation
  • Section 56 – Disposal, on conclusion of trial for forest-offence, of produce in respect of which it was committed
  • Section 57 – Procedure when offender not known, or cannot be found
  • Section 58 – Procedure as to perishable property seized under section 52
  • Section 59 – Appeal from orders under section .55, section 56 or section 57
  • Section 60 – Property when to vest in Government
  • Section 61 – Saving of power to release property seized
  • Section 62 – Punishment for wrongful seizure
  • Section 63 – Penalty for counterfeiting or defacing marks on trees and timber and for altering boundary-marks
  • Section 64 – Power to arrest without warrant
  • Section 65 – Power to release on a bond a person arrested
  • Section 66 – Power to prevent commission of offence
  • Section 67 – Power to try offences summarily
  • Section 68 – Power to compound offences and impose penalties
  • Section 69 – Presumption that forest-produce belongs to Government

Chapter X: CATTLE-TRESPASS

  • Section 70 – Cattle-trespass Act, 1871, to apply
  • Section 71 – Power to alter fines fixed under that Act

Chapter XI: OF FOREST-OFFICERS

  • Section 72 – State Government may invest Forest-officers with certain powers
  • Section 73 – Forest-officers deemed public servants
  • Section 74 – Indemnity for acts done in good faith
  • Section 75 – Forest-officers not to trade

Chapter XII: SUBSIDIARY RULES

Chapter XIII: MISCELLANEOUS

  • Section 79 – Persons bound to assist Forest-officers and police-officers
  • Section 80 – Management of forests the joint property of Government and other persons
  • Section 81 – Failure to perform service for which a share in produce of Government forest is enjoyed
  • Section 82 – Recovery of money due to Government
  • Section 83 – Lien on forest-produce for such money
  • Section 84 – Land required under this Act to be deemed to be needed for a public purpose under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894
  • Section 85 – Recovery of penalties due under bond
  • Section 85A – Saving for rights of Central Government
  • Section 86 – [Repealed.] (omitted/repealed)

Related posts:

  1. Section 52 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 – Seizure of property liable to confiscation
  2. Section 38 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 – Protection of forests at request of owners
  3. Section 61 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 – Saving of power to release property seized
  4. Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 – Notification declaring forest reserved