Now Reading: J&K High Court Quashes Willow Seizures, Orders Fresh Rules
-
01
J&K High Court Quashes Willow Seizures, Orders Fresh Rules
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…
The Story in Brief
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.
The Indian Opinion
The High Court's ruling exposes a slipshod enforcement regime: the government confiscated willow and trucks under a law that had lost its procedural legs. The Willow Act exists to protect local industry, but using an undefined administrative mechanism is no way to enforce a penal statute. The real test now is whether the J&K government will issue the required notification within eight weeks, or let this legislative vacuum fester while traders continue to suffer.
Source: livelaw.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
