TMI Blog1966 (9) TMI 153X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... very basis on which the appellate order of the Board was founded did not exist and that the Board had gone wrong in taking into consideration the compounding of an offence under the Forest Regulation by the petitioner before the High Court as affecting his suitability in getting settlement of an excise shop in Dibrugarh area. The facts necessary for the disposal of this appeal are as follows. One Biswabahan Das, the appellant before us, was the lessee of the said shop from 1956 to 1962. The shop was settled with him again for the term 1962-64 by the Deputy Commissioner. On appeal to the Board of Revenue, this was set aside, on the basis of a report submitted by the Inspector of Excise and the shop was settled with the present respondent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rs in collecting some broken and fallen green trees in his absence. The Board was not satisfied with this explanation and took the view that the fact of Hazarika having compounded the offence did not clear his conduct although he had succeeded in getting a sub- sequent settlement of a forest mahal. It was observed by the Board, forest mahals and excise shops are settled under different sets of rules and the fact that the respondent (Hazarika) was considered suitable for one would not automatically entitle him to the other. In the matter of settlement of excise shops, the settling authority is entitled under Executive Instruction III to take other factors under consideration including the moral character of the tenderer in determining his s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is suspected to have committed; and (b) when any property has been seized as liable to confiscation, to release the same on payment of the value thereof as estimated by such officer. Sub-section (2) provides:- On the payment of such sum of money, or such value, or both, as the case may be, to such officer, the suspected person, if in custody, shall be discharged, the property, if any, seized shall be released and no further proceedings shall be taken against such person or property. We may now note the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 345(1) of the Code prescribes that the offences thereunder specified may be compounded by the persons mentioned in the third column of the appended Table. By ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... only empowers a forest officer to accept compensation for a forest offence from a person suspected of having committed it. The person so suspected can avoid being proceeded with for the offence by rendering compensation. He may think that he was being unjustly suspected of an offence and he ought to defend himself or he may consider it prudent on his part to pay such compensation in order to avoid the harassment of a pro- secution even when he is of the view that he had not committed the offence. By adopting the latter course he does not remove the suspicion of having committed the offence unless he is to have such benefit conferred on him by some provision of law. In effect the payment of compensation amounts to his acceptance of the truth ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... de was not in violation of any law or public policy. We were also referred to certain general observations in the case of Reg. v. Rahimat(I.L.R. 1 Bom. 147 at p. 151.) that there was a class of cases which might be the subject either of criminal or civil cognizance and if the person injured desired to obtain compensation the law did not forbid him whereas if he invoked the penal interposition of the Magistrate, that interposition was not refused. From the above it was sought to be argued that if the wrong done was of a very trivial nature the rendering of compensation was in the eye of the law sufficient to redress it and to put an end to the matter without any reflection on the character of the person charged with having done the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the powers of the Appellate Authorities in the matter of settlement would be co-extensive with the powers of the primary authority, namely, the District Collector of the Sub-Divisional Officer. The same can be said of the powers of the Board of Revenue in this case. This Court observed (p. 1259) that- There is no doubt that if the Appellate Authority whose duty it is to determine questions affecting the right to settlement of a liquor shop, in a judicial or quasi-judicial manner, acts in excess of its authority vested by law, that is to say, the Act and the rules thereunder, its order is subject to the controlling authority of the High Court. The question, therefore, is whether the High Court was right in holding that the Appellate Aut ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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