KURIEN E KALATHI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Original Petition is filed invoking Art. 227 of the Constitution of India seeking relief, which is essentially, interlocutory in nature, in connection with a matter pending before the Forest Tribunal constituted under the provisions of the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act, 2003, for short, "EFL Act". The reason that had compelled the petitioner to file this petition is that the Government had not issued any notification following the orders issued by the High Court on the administrative side regarding transfer and posting of judicial officer to Tribunal at Kollam. By now, we are told that a notification has been issued and the request of the petitioner for interim relief can be considered at that end. The learned Tribunal will, therefore, expedite consideration of the request of the petitioner.

(2.) Since it is noted that the work of the judicial officers posted on transfer to such Tribunals sometimes gets delayed, owing to misunderstanding of the real effect of the relevant laws, we deem it appropriate to consider the jurisdictional issue in relation to such Tribunals in re its constitution in terms of the relevant laws.

(3.) Section 9(1) of the E.F.L. Act provides that the Government may, by notification in the gazette, constitute one or more Tribunal for the purpose of that Act. Sub-s. 2 of S. 9 provides that the Tribunal shall be a Judicial Officer not below the rank of a District Judge. Where more than one Tribunal is constituted, the Government shall define the areas within which each Tribunal shall exercise jurisdiction. In exercise of powers conferred by S. 9 of the E.F.L. Act, the Government constituted the Tribunals for the purpose of that Act as per S.R.O. No. 533/2007, G.O.(P) No. 35/2007/F&WLD dated 8.6.2007 and designated the First Additional District Court Judges specified in column 2 of the Schedule in that notification as Forest Tribunals to perform the functions under the said Act with jurisdiction over the areas specified in column 3 thereof. Four Tribunals were thus constituted. The First Additional District Court Judges of Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kottayam and Kollam were designated to exercise jurisdiction as conferred on each of those Tribunals in terms of that notification. This means that the Government by notification constituted four Tribunals in terms of S. 9 of the E.F.L. Act and designated the First Additional District Court Judges noted above as the Judicial Officer not below the rank of a District Judge to be the Tribunal. Once the Tribunals have come into being in terms of that notification, all that happens is that a Judicial Officer not below the rank of a District Judge in the State Judicial Service, who is posted as the First Additional District Judge of Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kottayam or Kollam automatically becomes the person appointed for the respective Tribunals. The Tribunal is the office of the Judicial Officer posted there and that officer will carry out the duties and functions of the Tribunal. Such appointment has been made by designation as per the notification. Therefore, it is not necessary for any particular Judicial Officer to be further clothed with any notified power to act as the Tribunal. No fresh notification is necessary following every transfer order of Judicial Officers.