SREE RAJAH UPPALAPATI SURYANARAYANESWARA JOGI JAGANNADHARAJU GARU Vs. TALUK BOARD, RAJAHMUNDRY BY ITS PRESIDENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff in this suit was a Zamindar who <JGN>King</JGN> , J. owned the villages of Bellampudi and Pedapudi in the East Godavari District. In those villages are certain puntas or village tracks, and in 1923 the Taluk Board of Rajahmundry sold certain trees growing on those puntas and sold the usufruct of certain other trees so growing for a sum of Rs. 146-14-0. In 1926 the Zamindar, claiming title in the trees in himself, brought this suit to recover that sum from the Taluk Board, and for a declaration and perpetual injunction. Both the Courts below have dismissed his suit.

(2.) Though this was contested originally by the Zamindar it is common ground in this appeal that the puntas in question are public roads within the meaning of Section 60 of the Local Boards Act, and that they therefore vested in the Taluk Board under the provisions of that section. But the trees growing upon a public road are nowhere specifically vested in the Board, and what we have to decide is whether the effect of the vesting under Section 60 is to confer ownership of such trees upon the Board.

(3.) The only section of the Local Boards Act itself which is of assistance in this matter would seem to be Section 163-A, an additional section enacted in 1930. Sub- Section (2) of that section runs as follows: No person shall fell, remove, destroy, lop or strip bark or leaves from or otherwise damage any tree vesting in or belonging to a Local Board and growing on any such public road or property except with the previous permission of the President of the Local Board and on such conditions as the President may impose.