20. Extinction of rights not claimed and not known by inquiry.
(1)Rights in respect of which no claim has been preferred under section 6, and of the existence of which no knowledge has been acquired by inquiry under section 8, shall on the issue of the notification under section 19, be extinguished, unless, before the publication of such notification the person claiming them has satisfied the Forest Settlement Officer that he had sufficient cause for not preferring such claim within the period fixed under section 6, in which case, the Forest Settlement Officer shall proceed to dispose of the claim in the manner hereinbefore provided.(2)Notwithstanding the provisions contained in sub-section (1), a person who has not been able to prefer the claim before the Forest Settlement Officer under section 6 or before the publication of the notification under section 19 may institute a suit in the District Court for the award of compensation for any rights extinguished under that sub-section within six months of the publication of the notification under section 19 and the Court may, if it is satisfied that he had such rights and there was sufficient cause for not preferring the claim before the Forest Settlement Officer within the period referred to in sub-section (1), award compensation.
