P.V. KUNHIRAMAN Vs. CUSTODIAN OF VESTED FOREST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Ext. P16 order passed by the Custodian of Vested Forest, Palakkad, as also Ext. P17 notification issued under the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act, 2003 are impugned in this writ petition preferred by the petitioners who are members of the Kookil Tharwad of Thalassery in the State of Kerala.

(2.) The brief facts necessary for the disposal of this writ petition are as follows:

(3.) In 1974, the petitioners approached the 1st respondent invoking the provisions of the Kerala Private Forests (Exemption from Vesting) Rules, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rules'), through separate applications, for the grant of exemption for the different extents of land that were allotted to them and which formed part of the land that was declared as a private forest by the 1st respondent. In exercise of his powers under S.3(3) of the Act read with R.3 and R.6 of the Rules, the 1st respondent considered the applications preferred by the petitioners for exemption and found 65 acres of land to be eligible for the exemption in terms of S.3(3) of the Act. He accordingly passed Ext. P1 order dated 12/02/1976, wherein, the total extent of land that was exempted, as also the separate parcels of land that were ordered to be returned to the petitioners, were separately indicated. It was observed that the parties would identify the land which they wanted returned and that these would be surveyed and demarcated at their costs.