(1) The State Government may invest any Forest-officer with all or of the following powers, that is to say :-
(a) Power to enter upon any land and to survey, demarcate and make a map of the same;
(b) The powers of a Civil Court to compel the attendance of witnesses and production of documents and material objects;
(c) Power to issue a search-warrant under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898); and
(d) Power to hold an inquiry into forest-offences, and, in the course of such inquiry, to receive and record evidence.
(2) Any evidence recorded under clause (d) of sub-section (1) shall be admissible in subsequent trial before a Magistrate, provided that it has been taken in the presence of accused person.
All Forest-officers shall be deemed be public servants within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860).
No suit shall lie against any public servant for anything done by him in good faith under this Act
Except with the permission in writing of the State Government, no Forest-officer shall, as principal or agent, trade in timber or other forest produce, or be or become interested in any lease of any forest or in any contract for working any forest, whether in or outside 17[the territories to which this Act extends].
Page Last Updated: 10-09-2025 04:50 PM
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