State Cannot Use Section 21 of General Clauses Act to Bypass Forest Conservation Law: Bombay High Court Quashes De-Notification of Protected Forest at Kanjurmarg

“De-Notifying Forest Land Without Central Approval Is a Violation of Law—Denotification Cloaked as Correction Is Ultra Vires”:- Bombay High Court delivered a landmark verdict protecting forest governance and environmental law integrity. The Court quashed a 2009 notification by the State of Maharashtra that had de-notified 119.91 hectares of mangrove-rich land at Kanjurmarg, previously declared a “protected forest” under Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Holding that the State had circumvented the mandatory approval of the Central Government under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), the Court declared: “Invoking Section 21 of the General Clauses Act to somehow set it up as a means to make Section 2(1) of the FCA inapplicable would render the latter provision otiose.”

The petitioner, Vanashakti, a public trust engaged in forest and wetland conservation, challenged the de-notification of forest land at Survey No. 275, Village Kanjurmarg, by the State Government. Originally part of salt pan lands, this area was reclassified as “protected forest” in a 2008 notification following satellite verification and ecological survey, in line with an earlier High Court order to preserve mangroves.

However, the State later issued a corrigendum in 2009—labelled as a mere “rectification”—removing 119.91 hectares from the protected area for use as a municipal landfill. This de-notification formed the heart of the challenge. The State invoked Section 21 of the General Clauses Act to justify the correction, arguing it was merely undoing an erroneous inclusion.

The core issue was whether the State could bypass the mandatory procedure under the Forest Conservation Act for de-notifying forest land by invoking its general power to amend notifications.

Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan, writing for the Bench, firmly rejected this contention: “Section 21 of the General Clauses Act has a foundational requirement—the exercise of power to undo something must be done in the same ‘manner’ and is subject to the same ‘sanction and conditions’ as applicable to the original notification.”

The Court ruled that any notification rescinding or altering a protected forest status must follow the stringent process under Section 2(1) of the FCA, which mandates prior approval of the Central Government. It emphasized: “Clearly, to de-notify such land as a protected forest, the provisions of Section 2(1) of the FCA would be attracted… it is common ground that such approval has admittedly not been obtained.”

Rejecting the State’s reliance on the Supreme Court’s 2003 order allowing the use of the land as landfill, the High Court clarified: “The Enabling SC Order was well known to the State when the Forest Notification was made. With full knowledge… the Subject Land was notified as a protected forest.”

The Court held that the 2008 Forest Notification was the result of due process, including ground-truthing and satellite imagery, and could not be nullified under the guise of a clerical correction. It observed: “The Forest Notification was issued fully conscious of the obligations arising out of the HC Mangrove Direction and the Enabling SC Order… The implications were well known to the State.”

On the Use of Section 21 of the General Clauses Act
The Court found the invocation of Section 21 to be impermissible in this context. It stated: “Section 21 of the General Clauses Act ensures that it does not present a blanket process of changing or rescinding every notification without due process applicable to the original notification.”

The ruling clarifies that special environmental statutes like the FCA override general administrative provisions when forest land is involved.
The High Court allowed the petition, quashing the 2009 “Impugned Notification” de-notifying 119.91 hectares of protected forest. It held that any such denotification could only be done by adhering strictly to Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, with prior approval from the Centre. Attempting to bypass this using Section 21 of the General Clauses Act was declared illegal.

“The power to amend, vary, or rescind under Section 21 does not empower the State to violate conditions imposed under a special law like the FCA.”
This ruling is a powerful reaffirmation of statutory environmental protections and a stern warning against the misuse of administrative powers to override ecological safeguards.

Date of Decision: 2 May 2025