STATE OF ORISSA vs DUTI SAHU

The Supreme Court held that under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, any dereservation or use of reserved forest land for non-forest purposes requires prior approval from the Central Government. The Court found that the Orissa High Court's direction to issue Timber Transit permits to respondents, who were granted land in a reserved forest, was legally incorrect as the trees on the land belonged to the State Government. Consequently, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's order.