The Assam Forest Protection Force Act, 1986
## Registered No. A—12

 THE ASSAM GAZETTE

**<5RT«fT9‘l**

EXTRAORDINARY

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**PUBLISHED** **BY AUTHORITY**

4! 175 22 1987, 1 1909 (w )

**No. 175** **Dispar, Tuesday, 22nd December,** **1987, 1st Pausa,**

**1909 (S.E.)**

GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM

**ORDERS BY THE GOVERNOR**

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT : LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

NOTIFICATION

The 19th December, 1987

No. LGL. 108/84/98.—The following Act of the Assam

Legislative Assembly which received the assent of the

President is hereby published for general information.


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1118 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, DEC, 22,1987

ASSAM ACT NO. XXII OF 1987

( Received the assent of the President on 11th

December, 1987 ).

THE ASSAM FOREST PROTECTION FORCE

ACT, 1986.

An
Act

to provide for the constitution and regulation

of a force called the Assam Forest Protection Force
for the better protection and security of the Forests,
Forest Produce and Wild Life of Assam.

It is hereby enacted in the Thirty-Seventh

Y ear of the Republic of India as follows: —

short title, ] This may be called The Assam

commence- Forest Protection Force Act, 1986.

**men*.**

(2) It extends to the whole of Assam.

(3) It shall come into force at once-

Definition*. 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise

requires;

(a) “Governor” means the Governor of Assam.

(b) “Government” means the State Government

of Assam.

(c) “Force” means the Assam Forest Protection

Force constituted under Section 3-

(d) “Forests” means Reserved Forests, Protected

Forests, Village Forests, Proposed Reserved
Forests where preliminary notification has
duly been published in the Assam Gazette,
unclassed State Forests so constituted or

defined under the Assam Forest Regulation
of 1891, any area recorded as forests in

the Government records and also areas

under various Social Forestry Plantations.


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## (e) “Forest Produce” includes—■

 (i) timber, charcoal, caoutchoue, catchu, wood
 oil, resin, natural varnish bark, lac,
 myrabolams, rhinoceros horns and anything found in or brought from a forest ;

 (ii) trees and leaves, fruits and all other parts
 or produce, not hereinbefore mentioned,
 of trees ;

 (iii) plants not being trees (including grass
 creepers, reeds and moss) and all parts or produce of such plants;

 (iv) wild animals and skins, tusks and horns,
 bones other than rhinoceros horn, silk,
 cocoons, honey, wax and all other parts or produce of animals ;

 (v) peat, surface soil, rock and minerals (in­
 cluding limestone, leterite, mineral oils and all produce of mines or quarries);

 (f) “Forest Officer” means any person appointed
 by name or as holding an office by or under the orders of the Government to be a Chief
 Conservator, Additional Chief Conservator
 of Forests, Conservator, Deputy Conservator, Assistant Conservator of Forests, a Wildlife Warden, Forest Ranger, Deputy Ranger,
 Game Keeper, Forester, Forest Guard, Head Game Watcher, Game Watcher, Mohout, Boatman or to discharge any function of a
 Forest Officer under the Assam Forest Regu­ lation of 1891, and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972;

 (g) “Chief Conservator of Forests” means the
 Chief Conservator of Forests appointed under Section 4 ;

 (h) “Member of the Force” means a person
 appointed to the Force other than a super­ visory officer ;


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## (i) “Supervisory Officer” means any of the offi -
 cers appointed under Section 4 and includes any other officer appointed by the Govern­ ment as a supervisory officer of the Force ;

 (j) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made
 under this Act.

 (k) “Wildlife’’ includes any animals, bees, butter
 flies, crustecea, fish and moth, and aquatic or land vegetation which forms part of any habitat.

 oftiieForce There shall be constituted and main- o t ie orce. j by b Government a Force to be called the
t a jn e ( t e

## Assam Forest Protection Force for the better pro­ tection and security of Forests, Forest Produce and Wildlife owned by the Government.

 (2) The Force so constituted shall consist of
 such number of supervisory officers and members of the Force who shall receive such pay and other remunerations as may be prescribed.

 mem^d G°[v e r n m e n t] may appoint a person to be
 power“ f the Chief Conservator of Forests and may appoint
 officersSOry o t ^ e r Persons to be the Additional Chief Conser-
cers' vator, Conservator, Commandant, Deputy Comman­

## dant, Assistant Commandant of the Force as may
 be required from time to time.

 ment of the 5- (a) The appointment of the members of the
 members of Force shall rest with the Chief Conserva­
 tor of Forests who shall exercise that
 power in accordance with the Rule made under this Act.

 Provided that the power of appointment under
 this Section may also be exercised by such other Supervisory Officer, not below the rank of an Addi­
 tional Chief Conservator as the Government may
 by order specify in this behalf.

 (b) The designation and rank of the members
 of the Force shall be regulated by Rules


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## made under this Act and at the time of
 initial constitution shall comprise of,

 (i) Company Gommander/Inspector.

 (ii) Platoon Commander/Sub-Inspector.

 (iii) Havildar.

 (iv) Constable.

Certificate 6.(1) Every member of the Force shall receive

of the Mem­
ber of the on his appointment a certificate in the form speci­

Force. fied in the Schedule under the seal of the Chief

## Conservator of Forests or such other Forest Offi­ cer as the Chief Conservator of Forests may specify in this behalf by virtue of which the person hol­ ding such certificate shall be vested with the power of a member of the Force.

 (2) Such certificate shall cease to have effect
 whenever the person named in it ceases to be a
 Member of the Force.

dence 7.(1) The Superintendence of the Force shall

## minfsttation [v e s] * *n t ^e Government and subject thereto the

of the Force, Administration of the Force shall vest in the Chief

## Conservator of Forests and shall be carried on by him in accordance with the provisions of this Act and Rules made thereunder-

 (2) Subject to the provision of sub-section (I),
 the administration of the Force, within such local limits as may be prescribed, shall be carried on by other supervisory officers in accordance with
 the provisions of the Act and or any Rules made thereunder and every supervisory officer placed in charge of the protection and security of Forests, Forest Produce and wildlife shall, subject to any
 directions that may be given by the Government in this behalf, discharge his functions under the
 general supervisions, direction and control of the concerning Forest Officer of the . territory.


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## Remova*1’ 8. Subject to the provision of Article 311 of
 etcTof* the Constitution and to such rules as the Govern-
 Memben of
**the Force.** m ent may under this Act make, anv Supervisory m _t_ _j_ _r_ _j_
## officer may—•

 (i) dismiss, suspend or reduce in rank any
 member of the Force whom he thinks remise or negligent in the discharge of his duty or unfit for the same; or

 (ii) award any or more of the following pun­
 ishments to any member of the Force who discharges his duty in a careless or negli­ gent manner or who by any act of his own renders himself unfit for the discharge
 thereof, namely;

 (a) fine to any amount not exceeding seven
 days pay or reduction in pay scale;

 (b) drill, extra guard, fatigue or other duty;

 (c) removal from any office of distinction or
 deprivation of any special emolument;

 (d) other punishment/punishments as may be
 deemed fit and proper.

 rtvCion [and] (1) Any member of the Force aggrieved by
evm ‘ an order made under Section 8 may, within 30
## (thirty) days from the date on which the order is communicated to him, prefer an appeal against the order to such authority as may be prescribed, and subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), the decision of the said authority thereon shall be final:

 Provided that the prescribed authority may en­
 tertain the appeal after the expiry of the said pe­
 riod of 30 days, if it is satisfied that the appellant
 was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the
 appeal in time.

 (2) In. disposing of an appeal, the prescribed
 authority shall follow such procedure as may be
 prescribed.


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THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, DEC. 22, 1987 1123

(3) The Government may call for and examine

the records of any proceeding under Section 8 or
under sub-section (2) of this section, and may

make such inquiry or cause such inquiry to be made

and subject to the provision of this Act may pass
such order thereon as it thinks fit:

Provided that no order imposing an enhanced

penalty under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3)

shall be made unless a reasonable opportunity

of being heard has been given to the person aff­
ected by such order.

Duties of io. It shall be the duty of every supervisory

the^Force? officer and members of the Force—

(a) to promptly obey and execute all orders

lawfully issued to him by his superior

authority ;

(b) to protect and safeguard the Forests, For­

est Produce and Wildlife of the State of
Assam ;

(c) to protect and safeguard other properties

owned by the Forest Department of the

State Government of Assam ;

(d) to do any other act conducive to the better

protection and security of Forests, Forest
Produce and Wildlife referred to in clauses

(b) and (c) above.

Power to 11- (1) Any supervisory officer or member of the

arrest with- Force, may without any order from a Magistrate

and without a warrant, arrest any person, who has
been concerned in or against whom a reasonable

suspicion exist of his having been concerned in or
who is found taking precautions to conceal his pre­
sence under circumstances which afford reason to

believe that he is taking such precautions with a
view to committing, a cognizable offence relating
to—

(i) Forest, Forest Produce and Wildlife of the

State of Assam;


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**11J4** the ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, DEC. 22, 1987

(ii) Property belonging to the Forest Depart­

ment of the State Government of Assam;

(2) If any person is found trespassing or squ­

atting in any Reserved Forest, plantations and pre­
mises owned by the Forest Department, National

Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, he may, without
prejudice to any other proceedings which may be
tjiken against him, be removed from such areas by
any supervisory officer or member of the Force.

**Power to** 12. (1) Whenever any supervisory officer, or

ouTwan-ant[a n] ^ [m e m] ^ [e r] °f Force, not below the presen­

**c e** **r an**
r a n [k, jj]a s r e a s o n [ to believe that any such offence ]

as is referred to in Section 11 has been or is

being committed and that a search warrant cannot
be obtained without affording the offender an oppor­
tunity of escaping or concealing evidence of the
offence, he may detain an offender 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 provision of the Code of Criminal Pro­

cedure Act, 1973, relating to the searches under

that code shall, so far as may be, apply to searches
under this Section-

**Procedure** 13. Any supervisory officer or member of the

**to be follow-**

**after** Force making an arrest under this Act shall, with­
**arrest.** out unnecessary delay, make over or send the person

so arrested to a Magistrate having jurisdiction

in the case.

Powers to 14 In order to prevent commission of any

fire armg6 as offence and in order to make effective search, the

cha’tOT xi °® [c e r s an<]3 the other members of the Force will

AxVofCr. have the right to use minimum necessary force in-

p       - c - eluding use of fire arms as provided in Chapter XI
and X II of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act,
1973.


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THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, **DEC. 12, 1987 1115**

**officers and** 15. f **member**
a ) Every Supervisory Officer and

## the Fo»c* to of the Force shall for the purpose of this Act be
 considered to be always on duty, and shall, at any
 o'! duty anYd time, be liable to be employed at any place within
 liable to be the State of Assam*
**employed**
**anywhere in** **x**

**the State of**
Amrid.

## (2) No Supervisory Officer or member of the
 Force shall engage himself in any employment or office other than his duties under this Act.

 He.sPof’ithe' 16- A member of the Force shall not by reason

**M em benofO f** his suspension from office cease to be **member**
## the Force f the Force and he shall during that period be
o

## pens"on.[su]” subject to the same responsibities, discipline and
 penalties to which he would have been subject if he were on duty.

 Surreadarof 17. (]) Every person who for any reason ceaies
 ams eu.^byto be a member of the Force, shall forthwith

p" ,on’ e£‘ surrender to any supervisory officer empowered to
o[*]

## MembeH f received the same, his certificate of appointment,
9

## the Force, the arms, accoutrements, clothing and other articles
 which have been furnished to him for the perfor­ mance of duties as a member of the Force.

 (2) Any person who wilfully neglects or re­
 fuses to surrender his certificates or appointment
 or the arms, accoutrements, clothing, and other
 articles furnished to him as required by sub-section
 (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with impri­
 sonment for a term which may extend to one
 month or with fine which may extend to two
 hundred rupees or both.

 (3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to
 apply to any article, which under the orders of the Chief Conservator of Forests, has become the
 property of the person to whom the same was furnished.


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**lit* THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY, DEG. 22, 1987**

Penalties for 18. 1) Without prejudice to the provisions

d^y [C]tc[tc].[f] contained in Section 8, every member of the Force

who shall be guilty of any violation of duty or

willful breach or neglect of any rule or regulation
or lawfull order made by a supervisory officer, or
who shall withdraw from the duties of his office

without permission, or who, being absent on leave,
fails, without reasonable cause, to report himself

for duty on the expiration of the leave, or who

engages himself without authority in any employ­

ment other than his duty as a member of the

Force, or who shall be guilty of cowardice, shall

on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for

          - a term which may extend to six months.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the

Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1973, offencee

punishable under this section shall be cognizable.

(3) Nothing contained in this section shall be              -

construed to prevent any member of the Force from
being prosecuted under any other law for any offence
made punishable by that law, or for being liable
under any such law to any other or higher penalty
or punishment than is provided for such offence

under this section:

Provided that no person shall be punished twice

for the same offence.

F F e
**of[P]Act22°of** Police (Incitement to Diseffectioti) Act,

1922 to 1922 shall apply to the supervisory officer and member

M?mben of[o f t h e F o r c e a s ] a PPh e s to the members of the

**the Force.** Police Force,

**Protection** 20. (1) In atty suit Or proceeding against any
**of acts of**

**Officers** Supervisory officer or member of the Force for any

**and Mem­** act done by him in the discharge of his duties, it
**bers «f the**
**Force.** shall be lawful for him to plead that such act

was done by him under the order of a competent
authority.

(2) Any such plea may be proved by the pro­

duction of the order directing the act, and if it is
so proved, the supervisory officer or the member of


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THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY. DEC. 22, 1987 112?

## the Force shall thereupon be discharged from any liabilities in respect of the act so done by him, notwithstanding any defect in the jurisdiction of the authority which issued such order.

 (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in any
 law for the time being in force, any legal
 proceeding, whether civil Or criminal, which may
 lawfully be brought against any supervisory officer
 or the member of the Force or anything done or
 intended to be done under the powers conferred by or in pursuance of any provision of this Act
 or the Rules thereunder shall be commenced
 within three months after the act complained of
 having been committed and not otherwise, and
 notice in writing of such proceeding and of the
 cause thereof shall be given to the person
 concerned and his supervisory officer at least one month before the commencement of such proceeding.

 (4) For prosecution of any officer or member
 of the Force sanction as required under Section
 197 of the Gode of Criminal Procedure Act, 1973 will be necessary.

 maker rules- ^1. (1) The Government may, by Notification ma e ru s 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
 and remunerations of supervisory officers and members of the Force and their
 conditions of service in the Force ;

 (b) regulating the powers and duties of
 supervisory officer and member of the
 Force authorised to exercise any functions
 by or under this Act ;

 (c) fixing the period of service for supervisory
 officers and members of the Force ;


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**1128 THE ASSAM GAZETTE. EXTRAORDINARY. DEC. 22. 19«7**

(d) prescribing the description and quantity

of arms, accoutrements, clothing and other

necessary articles to be furnished to the

member of the Force;

**(e)** prescribing the places of residences of the

Force ;

(f) institutions, managements and regulation of

any fund or any purpose connected with the ad­

ministration of the force ;

(g) regulating the punishment and prescribing

the authorities to whom appeal shall be preferred
from orders of punishment and the procedure to
be followed for the disposal of such appeals ;

(h) any other matter which has to be or

may be prescribed.

(3) Every rule made under this section shall

be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, be­
fore the Legislative Assembly of Assam while it is
in session for a tota 1 period of 30 days which may

be comprised of one session or two successive se­
ssions and if, before the expiry of the session in
which it is so laid or the session immediately

following, the State Assembly agrees in making any
modification in the rule or agrees that the rules
should not be made, the rules shall thereafter have
effect only in such modified form or be of no
effect, as the case may be, so, however, that apy
such modification or amendment shall be without

prejudice to the validity of anything previously
done under that rule.

_k_ _, -_ MD. SAADULLAH,

i Secretary to the Govt, of Assam,

# Legislative Department.

H JVAHAt I—Printed and published by the Dy. Director (P), Directorate of Ptg. and

**Sty. Assam, Guwahati—21 (E»-Ga»«ue) No, 349—1,217+300—22-12-1987**


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