The High Court of Karnataka in Dharwad has dismissed a petition filed by Kamadhenu Co-operative Dairy and Fruit Processing Society Ltd., Golokatta, challenging proceedings initiated by the Forest Department to recover 389.07 acres of forest land in Sirsi taluk of Uttara Kannada.

Delivering the verdict on August 12, Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum said that the society did not have a subsisting legal right to remain in possession of land after the expiry of its government lease and that the authorities have followed due process in initiating eviction proceedings.

In 1969

The land was leased to the society under Government Order No APA:183.FGL.69 of December 2, 1969.

The lease covered Survey No 8 of Golokatta village, Survey Nos 102 to 106 of Venkatapura village, now Forest Survey Nos 178 to 182 of Gudnapura village, and Forest Survey Nos 1, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 of Navrangere village of Golokatta, all in Sirsi taluk.

The lease was originally for 30 years and covered 186 acres and seven guntas for pineapple cultivation, three acres for buildings and 200 acres for dairy farming.

The State government subsequently reduced the lease period to 20 years through GO No AFD 339 FGL 74 of February 12, 1976 making the lease effective only up to December 1, 1989.

The appellate record also shows that citing under-utilisation of the leased forest land, the State government directed the society in 1986 to hand over 200 acres of under-utilised forest land.

Expiry of lease

After the lease expired, the society continued to be in possession of the land. Earlier, it approached a civil court in OS No 123 of 1993 after the authorities sought to recover the land.

The civil court, in 2005, declared a notice issued in 1993 illegal and restrained the authorities from forcibly dispossessing the society of the land except in accordance with law. The decree was affirmed in appeal.

The High Court said that the earlier decree did not confer a perpetual right of possession of land. It merely required the authorities to follow due process before recovering the land.

The present proceedings were initiated under Section 64-A of the Karnataka Forest Act 1963. The Authorized Officer and Assistant Conservator of Forests, Sirsi Sub-Division, ordered eviction on February 21, 2026. The society’s appeal was rejected by the Chief Conservator of Forests, Kanara Circle, on June 9.

The High Court noted that the society, after having been issued notice, appeared and filed objections and also availed itself of the appellate remedy. Hence, the requirement of due process has been satisfied, it said.

The society argued that the land was de-notified or de-forested, questioning the jurisdiction of the forest authorities. The court declined to examine the larger issue, noting that the society itself admitted to the original government lease, its expiry and rejection of its request for renewal, which had attained finality.

The court also rejected the plea of adverse possession, holding that possession which began permissively under a government lease cannot become adverse merely because the occupant remained there after its expiry.

While dismissing WP No 104964 of 2026, the High Court directed the authorities to recover possession of land strictly in accordance with law and in conformity with the decree in OS No 123 of 1993.

It held that long occupation by itself cannot create an enforceable right once the original source of possession ended.

Deputy Conservator of Forest, Sirsi, Sandip Suryawanshi told The Hindu that they have received the High court order and further steps will be initiated with inter-departmental coordination towards eviction as per law.

Published - August 20, 2026 08:06 pm IST