C.RAGHAVAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners are the legal heirs of one C. Kumaran Nair, and succeeded to an extent of 222.3490 hectares of land, on the death of Kumaran Nair. The said properties are now proceeded under the provisions of the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act, 2003 (for brevity, 'the Act, 2003'), and is suffered with Ext.P6 notification and Ext.P19 order of the Custodian. The following are the reliefs sought for by the petitioners:

(2.) Brief material facts for the disposal of the writ petition are as follows:

(3.) According to the petitioners, after the death of Kumaran Nair, the afore-specified properties were partitioned as per a deed of settlement-cum-partition executed on 13.03.1971, and thus the properties vested in the petitioners. During the year 1966 to 1969, late C.Kumaran Nair had obtained permissions from the District Collectors of Palakkad and Malappuram under Sec.3(2) of the Madras Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949 (in short, 'the MPPF Act') for conversion of the land into Rubber plantations after clear felling, and the rubber plantation so developed is known as "Kumaragiri Group Estates" (Mankada Plantations). The Rubber plantations were developed after obtaining registration from the Rubber Board, during different periods.