K.B. Asthana, J. - (1.)BY this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioners have challenged the validity of proceedings taken under the provisions of Chapter II of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (Act No. 16 of 1927)
(2.)BY a notification dated 19th May, 1964 published in the official gazette dated 5th June 1954 the State Government in exercise of its powers under Section 4 of the Forest Act proposed to constitute certain land as reserved forest. Eight plots on which the petitioners claimed sirdari rights, lying in village Grainahi, were also included in the land mentioned in the schedule of the said notification. Thereupon the petitioners filed claims before the Forest Settlement Officer objecting to the inclusion of their sirdari plots in the reserved forest. The case of the petitioners was that they had taken the plots in dispute on lease from the former zamindars and had executed a patta and Iqrarnama for the purpose. They also alleged that they had given a large sum of money to the former zamindar as price of the trees standing on the land demised to them and thereafter cleared the land by cutting the trees and prepared it for agricultural operations by incurring a large amount as expense. The Forest Settlement Officer made a local inspection, took evidence and on a consideration of the entire material on record rejected the claim of the petitioners. Thereupon the petitioners filed an appeal under Section 17 of the Forest Act before the Collector, Deoria. The appeal eventually came up for hearing before Sri N.P. Pande, Additional Collector, Deoria. A preliminary objection was raised on behalf of the petitioners before Sri N.P. Pande to the effect that he as the Additional Collector had no jurisdiction to entertain and hear the appeal under Section 17 of the Forest Act. Sri N.P. Pande considered the above said preliminary objection and rejected it. He held that as Additional Collector he had the same jurisdiction and power as the Collector of Deoria in so far as the hearing of appeals under the Forest Act was concerned. On merits Sri Pande affirmed the findings recorded by the Forest Settlement Officer. The result was that the appeal of the petitioners was dismissed. If is these proceedings which have been impugned on this petition.
Sri D.S. Sinha, holding the brief for Sri S.C. Khare, on behalf of the petitioners contended that Sri N.P. Pande, Additional Collector, Deoria, had no jurisdiction to entertain and hear the appeal under Section 17 of the Forest Act and his order dated 30-11-1961 dismissing the appeal of the petitioners being wholly without jurisdiction deserved to be quashed by a writ of certiorari. Learned counsel also contended that even on merits the said order was vitiated as there was an error manifest on the record, the appellate court having rejected from consideration the material documentary evidence on the erroneous ground that the document required registration. It was also submitted that the finding recorded by the appellate court was vitiated at least in regard to that part of the land in dispute on which the petitioners were found in possession and carrying on cultivation.

(3.)I will take up the question of jurisdiction as raised on behalf of the petitioners first. If on this question the answer is in favour of the petitioners then it would not be necessary to examine the validity of the other contentions raised in support of the petition on the merits of the case.
4a. Section 17 of the Forest Act reads as follows: "17. Any person who has made a claim under this Act, or any Forest Officer or other person generally or specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf, may, within three months from the date of the order passed on such claim by the Forest Settlement Officer under Section 11, Section 12, Section 15 or Section 16, present an appeal from such order to such officer of the Revenue Department, of rank not lower than that of a Collector, as the State Government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint to hear appeals from such orders.
It is not necessary to mention the proviso to that section as nothing turns on that in this case. By the notification dated 19th May, 1954 published in the official gazette dated 5th June 1954, which I have mentioned earlier, the State Government appointed the 'Zila Dhish' of Deoria (Collector of Deoria) as the person authorised to entertain and hear appeals under Section 17 of the Forest Act The petitioners it is not disputed, addressed their appeal to the Zila Dhish, Deoria. Sri N.P. Pande, who was posted as Additional Collector in Deoria, seized of this appeal in view of notification No. 2700 (xi)/II-A-202/1961 dated June 27, 1981, whereby he was transferred from Pratapgarh to Deoria and with effect from the date of taking over charge under Sub-section (1) of Section 14-A of the U. P. Land Revenue Act, 1901 he was to be an Additional Collector in the said district and under Sub-section (3) of the said section he was authorised to exercise all the powers and to perform all the duties of a Collector in all classes of cases. Section 14 of the U. P. Land Revenue Act, 1901, empowers the State Government to appoint in each district an officer who shall be the Collector of the district and who shall throughout his district exercise all the powers and discharge all the duties conferred and imposed on a Collector by the Land Revenue Act or any other law for the time being in force. Section 14-A of the U. P. Land Revenue Act empowers the State Government to appoint an Additional Collector in a district or in two or more districts combined. Sub-Section (3) of Section 14-A, as it then stood, enjoined that an Additional Collector shall exercise such powers and perform such duties of a Collector in such cases or class of cases as the State Government or, in the absence of orders from the State Government, the Commissioner concerned may direct. Sub-section (4) of Section 14-A then provided that the Additional Collector when exercising any powers or discharging any duties under Sub-section (3) would be treated as if he was the Collector of the district.