IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
OP.No. 4789 of 2001(T)
1. SHAJI KURUVILLA
... Petitioner
Vs
1. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR
... Respondent
For Petitioner :SRI.M.C.JOHN
For Respondent :SPL.GOVERNMENT PLEADER
The Hon'ble MR. Justice S.SIRI JAGAN
Dated :05/03/2009
O R D E R
S. SIRI JAGAN, J.
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O.P.No. 4789 OF 2001
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Dated this the 5th day of March, 2009
JUDGMENT
The petitioners are father, mother and minor son. They
together own 29.72 acres of land being part of a larger extent of
about 190 acres, which originally belonged to M/s. Malayalam
Plantations Ltd, out of which 29.72 acres were purchased by the
petitioners. Forest authorities initiated proceedings under the
Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Act for vesting of the
land in the Government as provided forest. O.A. filed before the
Forest Tribunal by the petitioners was allowed and the said area
was exempted from vesting as a cardamom plantation.
Subsequently, the petitioners converted a portion of the said land
namely, 9.97 acres, as a coffee estate. When they applied for
registration as a coffee estate, by Ext.P4 series, registration was
reused on the ground that the land has been notified under the
Kerala Preservation of Trees Act. It is under the above
circumstances, the petitioners have filed this original petition
O.P.No.4789/01 2
seeking the following reliefs:
a) call for the records relating to
Exts.P3 and P4 series.
b) issue a writ of certiorari quashing
Ext.P4 series;
c) issue a writ of mandamus directing
the respondents to issue the coffee registration
certificates in respect of the portions of the
petitioners’ estate mentioned in Ext.P3 series;
d) issue a writ in the form of a
declaration that Section 5 of the Kerala
Preservation of Trees Act will not attract the
coffee estate of the petitioners comprised in
R.S.No.1186 of Vellarimala village, Vythiri Taluk”.
2. A counter affidavit has been filed producing copy of
the notification issued under the Kerala Preservation of Trees
Act. Having notified the same under the Act, cutting of trees is
prohibited and therefore, the land could not have been
converted into coffee estate, is the contention raised by the
State.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
as per that notification, only 14.1640 hectors have been
declared notified under the Act and there is no indication in
that notification that the same includes the petitioners’
property. It is further contended that since the Kerala
Preservation of Trees Act prohibits only cutting of trees in
O.P.No.4789/01 3
cardamom plantations, cardamom hill reserve etc and since
the property in question now is a coffee estate to which the
prohibition under the Preservation of Trees Act cannot apply.
4. The contention of the respondents is that 14.1640
hectares notified under the Kerala Preservation of Tees Act
includes the petitioners’ property. The petitioners have not
been able to controvert that contention. Therefore, I am not
inclined to countenance that contention of the petitioners.
Regarding the second contention, if such a contention is
accepted, then any person can defeat the Kerala Preservation
of Trees Act with impunity. The owner of a cardamom estate
cannot convert into a coffee plantation and then claim that
now that it is only a coffee plantation, the Act would not apply.
Admittedly, the property in question was exempted from the
purview of the Kerala Private Forest Vesting and Assignment
Act only as a cardamom estate. Once that land is notified
under the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, cutting of trees is
prohibited. The petitioners have converted the same by
cutting trees. In any case since the land was exempted from
vesting under the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and
Assignment) Act, it could not have been converted into any
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other land. In the above circumstances, the second contention
also fails. Accordingly, the original petition is dismissed.
S. SIRI JAGAN, JUDGE
Acd