The JAMMU AND KASHMIR FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001

FOREST (PROTECTION)
FORCE ACT,  2001
(Act No. VI of 2001)
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR FOREST (PROTECTION)
FORCE ACT, 2001
(Act No. VI of 2001)
CONTENTS
Preamble.
Section.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Constitution of the Force.
4. Appointment of Officers and other ranks of the Force.
5. Certificates to Members of the Force.
6. Superintendence, control and administration of the Force.
7. Dismissal, removal etc. of Members of the Force.
8. Appeal and revision.
9. Duties of the Members of the Force.
10. Power to arrest without warrant and procedure to be followed.
11. Powers to search without warrant.
12. Members of the Force to be considered always on duty.
13. Restrictions respecting right to form associations etc.
14. Responsibilities of Members of the Force during suspension.
15. Surrender of certificates, Arms etc. by persons ceasing to be Members of
the Force.
16. Penalties for neglect of duty etc.
17. Protection of acts of Members of the Force.
18. Power to make rules.
–––––––
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 181
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR FOREST (PROTECTION)
FORCE ACT, 2001
(Act No. VI of 2001)
[Received the assent of the Governor on 12th April, 2001 and published
in Government Gazette dated 12th April, 2001].
An Act to provide for the constitution of Forest Protection Force for
better protection and security of the forest property and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature in the Fifty-
second Year of the Republic of India as follows:––
1. Short title, extent and commencement.––(1) This Act may be called
the Jammu and Kashmir Forest (Protection) Force Act, 2001.
(2) It shall extend to the 1[whole of the Union territory of Jammu and
Kashmir].
2[(3) It shall come into force on such date as may be specified by
notification in the Jammu and Kashmir *{Government Gazette}].
2. Definitions.–– In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,––
(a) “Director” means the Director of the Force appointed under sub-
section (1) of section 4 ;
(b) “Force” means the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Protection Force
constituted under section 3 ;
(c) “Force Custody” means the arrest or confinement of a Member of the
Force in accordance with rules made under this Act ;
(d) Forest property includes,––
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “whole of the Jammu and Kashmir State”.
2. Enforced vide SRO 292 dated 5th September, 2003 w.e.f. 5th September, 2003.
* Now “Official Gazette”.
182 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
(i) “ 1[Reserved forest]”, “2[Protected forest]”, “village forests”,
“forest produce” as defined in 3[the Indian Forest Act, 1927
(16 of 1927)] ;
(ii) “government property” as defined in 4[the Wildlife (Protection)
Act, 1972 (53 of 1972)] ;
(iii) any other moveable or immoveable property in which the Forest
Department or other related organizations have any interest ;
(e) “Government” means 5[the Government of Union territory of Jammu
and Kashmir] ;
(f) Member of the Force includes every person appointed or deputed
to the Force ;
(g) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;
(h) Words and expressions used but not defined in this Act, shall have
the meaning as assigned to them in 6[the Wildlife (Protection) Act,
1972 (53 of 1972) or the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1927)].
3. Constitution of the Force.––(1) There shall be an armed force of the
7[Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir] called the Forest Protection Force for
better protection and security of the forest property.
(2) The Force shall be the Department of the Government on the pattern
of Police Department in the 7[Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir].
(3) The Force shall be constituted in such manner and shall consist of
such ranks and number of members as may be prescribed.
(4) Every Member of the Force shall be entitled to such pay and other
allowances as may be prescribed.
4. Appointment of Officers and other ranks of the Force.–– The
Government may depute, from the Forest Department, persons to be the Director,
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “demarcated forest”.
2. Substituted ibid for “undemarcated forest”.
3. Substituted ibid for “the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, Samvat 1987”.
4. Substituted ibid for “the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978”.
5. Substituted ibid for “the Government of Jammu and Kashmir”.
6. Substituted ibid for certain words and figures.
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 183
the Joint Directors and Dy. Directors of the Force and appoint or cause to be
appointed persons to other ranks of the Force.
5. Certificates to Members of the Force. ––(l) Every Member of the Force
shall receive a certificate in the form specified in the Schedule, under the seal
of the Director or such other officer as the Director may specify in this behalf,
by virtue of which the person holding such certificate shall be vested with the
powers and privileges of a Member of the Force.
(2) Such certificate shall cease to have effect whenever the person named
in it ceases for any reason to be a Member of the Force.
6. Superintendence, control and administration of the Force.––(1) The
superintendence of the Force shall vest in the Government, and subject thereto
and to the provisions of this Act and of any rules made thereunder, the command,
supervision and administration of the Force shall vest in the Director.
(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (l), the administration of the
Force, within such local limits as may be prescribed, shall be carried on by a
Joint Director, a Deputy Director or an Assistant Director in accordance with
the provisions of this Act and of any rules made thereunder and he shall,
subject to any direction that may be given by 1[the Government of the Union
territory of Jammu and Kashmir] or the Director of the Force, in this behalf,
discharge his functions keeping close liaison with his counterpart having
territorial jurisdiction.
7. Dismissal, removal etc. of Members of the Force.––(l) Subject to the
provisions of 2[article 311 of the Constitution of India] and to such rules as the
Government may make under this Act, the Director may dismiss, suspend or
reduce in rank any Member of the Force not above the rank of Assistant Director
whom he thinks remiss or negligent in the discharge of his duty, or unfit for the
same.
(2) Any Superior Officer not below the rank of Deputy Director may
award any one or more of the following punishments to any Member of the
Force who discharges his duty in a careless or negligent manner, or who by
any act of his own renders himself unfit for the discharge thereof, namely:––
(a) fine to any amount not exceeding fifteen days basic pay ;
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “State Government”.
2. Substituted ibid for “section 126 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir”.
184 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
(b) confinement to quarters for a period not exceeding fifteen days,
with or without punishment, drill, extra guard, fatigue or other duty.
The order shall be subject to confirmation by the Joint Director and
in case of Joint Director issuing the punishment order, it shall be
subject to confirmation by the Director of the Force.
8. Appeal and revision.––(1) Any Member of the Force aggrieved by an
order made under sub-section (1) or clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 7
may, within thirty days from the date on which the order is communicated to
him prefer an appeal against the order to the––
(i) Government if the punishment has been awarded by the Director ;
and
(ii) Director if the punishment has been awarded by any other Member
of the Force.
(2) The Government or the Director, as the case may be, may entertain an
appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirty days, if satisfied that the
appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.
(3) In disposing of an appeal, under sub-section (1) such procedure shall
be followed as may be prescribed :
Provided no order imposing an enhanced penalty under sub-section (2)
shall be made unless reasonable opportunity of being heard has been given to
the person affected by such order.
9. Duties of the Members of the Force.–– It shall be the duty of every
Member of the Force to,––
(a) promptly obey and execute all orders lawfully issued to him by his
superior authority ;
(b) protect and safeguard forest property ;
(c) assist, on requisition, a Forest Officer or an officer of the Wildlife
Department or an officer of the Soil Conservation Department
having territorial jurisdiction when such requisition is for the
protection of forest property ;
(d) perform patrolling in the vulnerable areas on systematically drawn
plans and to take such necessary steps required to protect the
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 185
forest property with the help of territorial staff or of its own
depending upon the exigencies of the situation ;
(e) detect and to bring offenders to justice and to apprehend all persons
whom he is legally authorized to apprehend and for whose appre-
hension sufficient ground exists ; provided that the territorial staff
not below the rank of Range Officer is informed ; and
(f) to take up such special assignment as may be entrusted to the
Force by the Government from time to time.
10. Power to arrest without warrant and procedure to be followed.––(1)
Any Member of the Force not below the rank of Assistant Director, may without
an order from a Magistrate and without warrant, arrest any person who––
(i) commits or attempts to commit a cognizable offence under 1[the
Indian Forest Act, 1927 (16 of 1927)] and 2[the Wildlife (Protection)
Act, 1972 (53 of 1972)] ;
(ii) voluntarily causes hurt to, or attempts voluntarily to cause hurt to,
or wrongfully restrains or attempts wrongfully to restrain, or
assaults, threatens to assault, or uses or threatens or attempts to
use, criminal force to him or any other member of the Force in the
execution of his duty as such Member, or with intent to prevent or
to deter him from discharging his duty as such member, or in
consequence of any thing done or attempted to be done by him, in
the lawful discharge of his duty as such member ; or
(iii) has been concerned in, or against whom a reasonable suspicion
exists of his having been concerned in, or who is found taking
precautions to conceal his presence under circumstances which
afford reason to believe that he is taking such precautions with a
view to committing a cognizable offence which relates to forest
property.
(2) The arrestee shall be produced before the nearest Magistrate within
a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for
the journey from the place of arrest to the Court of the Magistrate and he
shall not be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority
of magistrate.
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act,
Samvat 1987”.
2. Substituted ibid for “the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978”.
186 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
(3) Subject to the provisions of sub- section (2), any member of the force
making an arrest under this Act shall without unnecessary delay take the
arrestee to the nearest Police Station with report of circumstances occasioning
the arrest for his eventual custody in the police lock-up.
(4) The member of the Force carrying out the arrest should bear accurate,
visible and clear identification and name tags with their designation.
(5) The member of the Force carrying out the arrest of the arrestee shall
prepare a memo of arrest at the time of the arrest and such memo shall be
attested by at least one witness who may either be a member of the family of
the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is
made. It shall also be countersigned by the arrestee and shall contain the time
and date of arrest.
(6) A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in
custody in a police station shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or
other person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as
soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the
particular place unless the attesting witness of the memo of arrest is himself
such friend or relative of the arrestee.
(7) The person arrested shall be made aware of his right to have someone
informed of his arrest as soon as he is put under arrest.
(8) Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to
above, shall be sent to the magistrate for his record.
(9) The provisions of 1[the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)],
relating to arrests under that Code shall so far as may be, apply to arrests
under this Act.
11. Powers to search without warrant.––(1) Whenever any Member of
the Force not below the rank of Assistant Director has reason to believe that
any such offence as is referred to in section 10 is being committed and that a
search warrant cannot be obtained without affording the offender an opportunity
of escaping or of concealing evidence, he may detain him 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.
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat
1989”.
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 187
(2) The provisions of 1[the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)],
relating to searches under that Code shall so far as may be, apply to searching
under this Act.
12. Members of the Force to be considered always on duty.––(1) Every
Member of the Force shall, for the purposes of this Act, be considered to be
always on duty.
(2) No Member of the Force shall engage himself in any employment or
office other than his duties under this Act.
13. Restrictions respecting right to form associations etc.––(1) No
Member of the Force shall :––
(a) be a Member of, or be associated in any way with, any trade union,
labour union, political association or with any class of trade unions,
labour unions, or political associations ; or
(b) be a Member of, or be associated in any way with, any other society,
institution, association or organisation that is not recognised as
part of the Force or is not of a purely social, recreational or religious
nature ; or
(c) communicate with the press or publish or cause to be published
any book, letter or other document except where such
communication or publication is in the bona fide discharge of his
duties or is of a purely literary, artistic, or scientific character.
Explanation.––If any question arises as to whether any society, institution,
association or organisation is of a purely social, recreational
or religious nature under clause (b), the decision of the
Government thereon shall be final.
(2) No Member of the Force shall participate in, or address any meeting
or take part in any demonstration organised by any body or persons for any
political purposes or for such other purposes as may be prescribed.
14. Responsibilities of Members of the Force during suspension.–– A
Member of the Force shall not by reason of his suspension from office cease to
be Member of the Force; and he shall, during that period, be subject to the
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat
1989”.
188 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
same responsibilities, discipline and penalties to which he would have been
subjected if he was on duty.
15. Surrender of certificates, Arms etc. by persons ceasing to be Members
of the Force.––(1) Every person who for any reason ceases to be a Member of
the Force, shall forthwith surrender to any superior officer empowered to receive
the same, his certificate issued under section 5, the arms, accoutrements,
clothing and other articles which have been furnished to him for performance
of duties as a Member of the Force.
(2) Any person who wilfully neglects or refuses to surrender his certificate
of appointment, the arms, accoutrements, clothing and other articles furnished
to him, as required by sub-section (1), shall, on conviction, be punished with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which
may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to any article which,
under the orders of the Director, has become the property of the person to
whom the same was furnished.
16. Penalties for neglect of duty etc.––(1) Without prejudice to the
provisions contained in section 7, any Member of the Force who shall be
guilty of any violation of duty or wilful breach or neglect of any rule or lawful
order made by a superior authority, or who shall withdraw from 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 for any employment other than his
duty as a Member of the Force or who shall be guilty of cowardice may be
taken into Force Custody and shall be convicted by a Judicial Magistrate
having jurisdiction with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with
fine which may extend to five thousand rupees or with both.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in 1[the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)], an offence punishable under this section shall be
cognizable and non-bailable.
(3) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent any
Member from being prosecuted under any other law for any offence made
punishable by that law, or being liable under any such law to any other or
higher penalty or punishment than is provided for such offence by this section.
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat
1989”.
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 189
17. Protection of acts of Members of the Force.––(1) No suit or criminal
proceeding or other legal proceeding shall be initiated against any Member of
the Force for anything done by him in good faith under this Act.
(2) No court shall take cognizance of any offence alleged to have been
committed by a Member of the Force while acting or purporting to act in the
discharge of his official duty except with the previous sanction of the
Government or such other authority as the Government may, by notification in
the Government Gazette, appoint in this behalf.
(3) In any suit or proceeding against any Member of the Force for any act
done by him in the discharge of his duties, it shall be lawful for him to plead
that such act was done by him under the orders of a superior authority.
(4) Any such plea may be proved by the production of the order directing
the act, and if it is so proved, the Member of the Force shall thereupon be
discharged from liability in respect of that act so done by him, notwithstanding
any defect in the jurisdiction of the authority which issued such order.
18. Power to make rules.––(1) The Government may, by notification in
the 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, remuneration and other
 service conditions of Members of the Force ;
(b) regulating the powers and duties of Members of the Force author-
ized to exercise any functions by or under this Act ;
(c) prescribing the description, quantity and maintenance of arms, ac-
coutrements, clothing and other necessary articles to be furnished
to the Members of the Force ;
(d) prescribe conditions for use of arms and ammunition by any Mem-
ber of the Force while performing his duties under this Act ;
(e) prescribing the places of residence of the Members ;
(f) Institution, management and regulation of any fund for any purpose
connected with the administration of the Force ;
190 FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001
(g) regulating the punishment, awards, compensation and ex-gratia
payments to Member of the Force and the procedure to be followed
for the disposal of such cases ;
(h) regulating matters with respect to Force Custody under this Act,
including the procedure to be followed for taking persons into
such custody ;
(i) regulating matters with respect to disposal of cases relating to
investigation, arrest, custody, trial and punishment of offences
triable or punishable under this Act ; and
(j) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed, or in
respect of which rules are required to be made under this Act.
(3) No rule under clauses (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) shall be made
except the prior consultation of the Home Department.
(4) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be
after it is made, before 1[Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu
and Kashmir], while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may
be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if,
before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the
successive sessions aforesaid, 2[Legislative Assembly agrees] in making any
modification in the rule or 2[Legislative Assembly agrees] that the rule should
not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or
be of no effect, as the case may be ; so, however, that any such modification or
annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously
done under that rule.
–––––––
1. Substituted by S.O. 1229 (E) dated 31.03.2020 for “each House of the State Legislature”.
2. Substituted ibid for “both Houses agree”.
FOREST (PROTECTION) FORCE ACT, 2001 191

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