ARUMUGHAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are father and son respectively. This writ petition is filed, challenging Ext.P8 notification issued under Sec. 5 of the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Trees Act', for short). The petitioners have also sought for a direction to the respondents not to obstruct them from cutting and removing the trees from the agricultural lands covered by Exts.P1 to P3 title deeds.

(2.) The petitioners have been holding some properties on the basis of Ext.P1 in the name of the 1st petitioner and Ext.P3 in the name of the 2nd petitioner. These properties were stated to be principally planted with rubber trees as also other trees. A copy of the registration certificate obtained under the provisions of the Rubber Act, 1947, from the Rubber Board is also produced as Ext.P5, to prove that the petitioners were engaged principally in rubber cultivation.

(3.) Proceedings were taken against the properties of the petitioners under the provisions of the Kerala Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Assignment Act', for short) by the Forest Department. This was taken up by the petitioners before the Forest Tribunal, Palakkad, culminating in the issue of Ext.P6 order dtd. 4/8/1979. In the said order, the Forest Tribunal found that the property concerned was cultivated with tapioca, modan, etc., and also that the petitioners had no land in excess of the ceiling limit.