M. JAMEELA Vs. THE STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals by the original applicants arise from a common judgment dtd. 28/2/2012 of the High Court of Kerala in M.F.A. Nos. 213 & 219 of 2007. By the impugned judgment, the High Court affirmed the order of the Forest Tribunal, Kozhikode dtd. 20/3/2007 dismissing the appellants' Original Applications (O.A.) Nos. 36 & 37 of 1997. The central question is whether the lands in question, comprising a total of 37.50 acres in South Wayanad, Kerala are private forests vested in the State by virtue of the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as"the Vesting Act"), or whether they stood exempt from vesting as bona fide coffee plantations existing prior to the Act's appointed day, 10/5/1971, by operation of Ss. 3(2) and 3(3) of the Act.

(2.) The dispute has a protracted history. The appellants (and their predecessors) claim title and possession of the suit lands and assert that the lands were developed as coffee and cardamom plantations well before 1971. In 1997, faced with the Forest Department's assertion that these lands were "vested forest" under the Vesting Act, the appellants filed O.A. Nos. 36 of 1997 and 37 of 1997 before the Forest Tribunal, Kozhikode under Sec. 8 of the Act, seeking to declare that the lands are not vested in the Government. The State resisted the applications, maintaining that the lands in question constituted private forest as on the appointed day and hence stood vested under Sec. 3(1) of the Act.

(3.) The Forest Tribunal initially adjudicated the matter by a common judgment dtd. 30/9/1999, dismissing the applications. In essence, the Tribunal in that first round held that the appellants failed to prove the existence of the claimed plantations prior to 10/5/1971. The appellants carried the matter in appeal to the High Court. The High Court, by order dtd. 11/12/2006 in M.F.A. No. 618 of 2000 (which was the earlier appeal arising from the 1999 Tribunal decision), set aside the Tribunal's 1999 order and remanded the case for fresh consideration. The High Court specifically directed the Tribunal to conduct a thorough inquiry with the aid of scientific expertise to determine whether the coffee plants on the property were planted before the appointed day. This direction was given because the High Court found that the critical issue, i.e., the age of the plantation had not been satisfactorily determined in the initial round.