# J&K High Court Quashes Willow Seizures, Orders Fresh Rules 2026-08-10T09:52:49+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed the confiscation of 6,150 willow clefts and a truck, holding that the government failed to prescribe a fresh procedure under the Jammu & Kashmir Willow (Prohibition of Export and Movement) Act, 2000 after the repeal of the J&K Forest Act in 2019. Justice M.A. Chowdhary directed the Forest Department to submit a proposal within eight weeks to issue a notification or standing order governing seizure and confiscation. The case arose from a December 2023 interception at Lakhanpur, where a truck carrying willow from Pulwama to Meerut was seized over an e-way bill mismatch. The court found the confiscation proceedings legally unsustainable, noting that the Indian Forest Act's confiscation provisions cannot be automatically applied to the Willow Act without an express government notification. ## Coverage - livelaw.in Tags: confiscation, forest law, High court, Jammu & Kashmir, procedure, Willow Act Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/jk-high-court-quashes-willow-seizures-orders-fresh-rules/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/jk-high-court-quashes-willow-seizures-orders-fresh-rules/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.