K. ABDULLA Vs. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition, the Petitioner has sought for the following reliefs:

(2.) THE Petitioner's case in a nutshell is that the lands had been granted by the State Government to the Petitioner during the year 1928 -29. The Petitioner's claim is that he is in possession of the land and is using the same for growing coffee crops. According to the Petitioner's case, trees standing on the coffee land were hindering the growth of the coffee crop by giving excessive shade to the coffee plants. As such, the Petitioner made an application under Sections 74 and 75 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 seeking permission to cut and remove the trees. The Assistant Commissioner and the Tahsildar furnished the report to the Deputy Commissioner stating that the Petitioner is the owner of the land in question. But the Deputy Commissioner opined that the reserve kind of trees belongs to the State Government. The Petitioner's case is that the permission should have been granted to the Petitioner to cut the trees. In the petition no doubt, reference has been made to Sections 74 and 75 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act.

(3.) THE learned Government Counsel contended that it has been laid down in the case of J Adiveppa Babappa Hulasera Vs. Divisional Forest Officer, ILR (1989) KAR 1228 that there is no right to seek permission to cut the trees unless the applicant shows that he is the owner of the trees. The learned Government Counsel further contended that here in this case, the Petitioner ought to have been proved that the burden is on him to prove that the trees belong to him.