{"id":169923,"date":"1996-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1996-08-06T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/state-of-kerala-ors-vs-m-n-sankara-narayanan-ors-on-7-august-1996"},"modified":"2018-08-12T21:23:10","modified_gmt":"2018-08-12T15:53:10","slug":"state-of-kerala-ors-vs-m-n-sankara-narayanan-ors-on-7-august-1996","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/state-of-kerala-ors-vs-m-n-sankara-narayanan-ors-on-7-august-1996","title":{"rendered":"State Of Kerala &amp; Ors vs M.N. Sankara Narayanan &amp; Ors on 7 August, 1996"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">State Of Kerala &amp; Ors vs M.N. Sankara Narayanan &amp; Ors on 7 August, 1996<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_citations\">Equivalent citations: JT 1996 (7),    462\t  1996 SCALE  (6)148<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: K Ramaswamy<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: Ramaswamy, K.<\/div>\n<pre>           PETITIONER:\nSTATE OF KERALA &amp; ORS.\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nM.N. SANKARA NARAYANAN &amp; ORS.\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT:\t07\/08\/1996\n\nBENCH:\nRAMASWAMY, K.\nBENCH:\nRAMASWAMY, K.\nG.B. PATTANAIK (J)\n\nCITATION:\n JT 1996 (7)   462\t  1996 SCALE  (6)148\n\n\nACT:\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n<p>\t\t\t O R D E R<br \/>\n     Leave granted.\n<\/p>\n<p>     We have heard learned counsel on both sides.<br \/>\n     The  case\thas  a\tchequered  history  which  needs  no<br \/>\nelaboration. Suffice  it to  state  that  under\t the  Madras<br \/>\nPrivate\t Forests  Preservation\tAct,  private  forests\twere<br \/>\npreserved. The\tLegislature  of\t the  Kerala  passed  Kerala<br \/>\nPrivate Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act 26 of 1971 (for<br \/>\nshort, the  &#8216;Vesting Act&#8217;)  which came into force w.e.f. May<br \/>\n10, 1971.  The respondent  claimed 3,000  acres to  be not a<br \/>\nprivate forest.\t The Tribunal  declared\t that  entire  3,000<br \/>\nacres were  not a  private forest. When an appeal came to be<br \/>\nfiled by  the appellant,  the Division\tBench of  the Kerala<br \/>\nHigh Court  in MFA  No.152\/1977 by  judgment dated September<br \/>\n19,  1980   had\t accepted  the\treport\tsubmitted  by  three<br \/>\nCommissioners, namely,\ttwo advocates,\tP.C. Chacko  and  N.<br \/>\nNandkumara Menon  and  John  M.\t John,\tAssistant  Director,<br \/>\nCardamom Board.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The report\t dated February\t 26, 1979 Ex.X-4 declared as<br \/>\nunder:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>     &#8220;In  the\tresult,\t the  appeal  is<br \/>\n     allowed, the  order of  the  Forest<br \/>\n     Tribunal  is   set\t aside\t and  we<br \/>\n     declare that plots 2 and 3 as shown<br \/>\n     In Ext.  X-5 plan having an area of<br \/>\n     25 acres  in alone\t not  a\t private<br \/>\n     forest within  the meaning\t of that<br \/>\n     expression as  defined in Act 26 of<br \/>\n     1971. If  there is\t a case\t for any<br \/>\n     recovery steps,  it is  open to the<br \/>\n     appellant to  enforce the\tbond  if<br \/>\n     any, filed\t by  the  respondent  in<br \/>\n     obedience\tto   the   order   dated<br \/>\n     19.4.1977 in  IA  125\/1977\t of  the<br \/>\n     Tribunal (Page  23 begins).  In the<br \/>\n     nature of\tthis case the respondent<br \/>\n     shall  pay\t  the\tcosts\tof   the<br \/>\n     appellants.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>     Thereunder, 25  acres marked  in  the  said  area\twere<br \/>\ndeclared  to   be  not\t a  private  forest  since  cardamom<br \/>\noperations were\t being carried\ton in  that area.  When\t the<br \/>\nrespondents carried  the matter\t in appeal  to this Court in<br \/>\n<a href=\"\/doc\/664247\/\">M.N. Sankaranarayanan v. State of Kerala &amp; Anr.<\/a> [AIR 1987 SC<br \/>\n47] based  upon the  admission made  by the  State in  their<br \/>\ncounter affidavit  declared that  60 acres out of 3000 acres<br \/>\nwould be  the area  in which  the respondent was cultivating<br \/>\ncardamom plantations and held that :\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>     &#8220;We,  therefore,\tfind  that   the<br \/>\n     appellant\t is    entitled\t  to   a<br \/>\n     declaration in respect of an extent<br \/>\n     of\t 60   acres  of\t land,\tAt  this<br \/>\n     distance of  time no useful purpose<br \/>\n     may be  served by\tthe case for the<br \/>\n     purpose of identifying the 60 acres<br \/>\n     of\t land.\t After\tconsulting   the<br \/>\n     learned counsel  for the parties we<br \/>\n     have arrived at the conclusion that<br \/>\n     the appellant  is\tentitled  to  an<br \/>\n     area of  60 acres of his choice out<br \/>\n     of 3000  acres claimed  by him. The<br \/>\n     declaration in  respect of 60 acres<br \/>\n     will  he\tin   addition\tto   the<br \/>\n     declaration  granted  by  the  High<br \/>\n     Court  in\trespect\t of  259  acres.<br \/>\n     Subject to this slight modification<br \/>\n     the appeal\t is dismissed but in the<br \/>\n     circumstances without costs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>     It was accordingly held that the respondent is entitled<br \/>\nto a  declaration in  respect of  an extent  or 60  acres of<br \/>\nland; he  was given  liberty to\t select any  60 acres out of<br \/>\n3000 acres  for his  retention and  had accordingly retained<br \/>\nthe  lands  in\tquestion.  Legislature\thas  passed  another<br \/>\nenactment, viz.,  the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986<br \/>\n(Act 36\t of 1986)  (for &#8216;short, the &#8216;Preservation Act) which<br \/>\ncame into  force w.e.f.\t June 18,  1983. In  exercise of the<br \/>\nsaid power  notification came  to be issued by the competent<br \/>\nauthority on  July 19, 1991 in which it is declared that the<br \/>\nfelling of  all the  available trees  would adversely affect<br \/>\nsoil erosion  and moisture  retention in  the area and cause<br \/>\ndestruction  and   loss\t of  timber  wealth  in\t the  State.<br \/>\nTherefore, notification\t was issued  prohibiting felling  of<br \/>\nthe trees  under Section 5 of the Preservation Act. The same<br \/>\ncame to be questioned in the High Court. The same came to be<br \/>\nJudge in  the writ  petition and  the Division\tBench of the<br \/>\nHigh Court  in the  impugned judgment dated March 9, 1994 in<br \/>\nWrit Appeal  No.1505 of 1992 held that the 60 acres is not a<br \/>\nprivate forest\twithin the  meaning of\tthe Vesting Act and,<br \/>\ntherefore, the\tnotification issued  under Section  5 of the<br \/>\nPreservation Act is not valid in law. Thus this appeal.\n<\/p>\n<p>     Shri George,  learned counsel  appearing for the State,<br \/>\ncontended that\tin view\t of the\t peculiar situation  in this<br \/>\ncase, the  notification is  perfectly valid in law since the<br \/>\nobject of  the Preservation  Act is  to sustain\t the  forest<br \/>\ngrowth and  the land  in question  was a forest land. It was<br \/>\ndeclared to  be not  a forest  area in view of the admission<br \/>\nmade  in  the  counter-affidavit  that\tthe  respondent\t was<br \/>\ncultivating cardamom  plantation in that area. The admission<br \/>\nmade by\t the respondent that he had permitted 4th respondent<br \/>\nto cut and carry the trees therefrom would clearly show that<br \/>\nthey are  the forest trees defined under Section 2(e) of the<br \/>\nPreservation Act  and, therefore,  felling of  trees  is  in<br \/>\nviolation of  the Preservation\tAct. Shri  Sudhi  Vasudevan,<br \/>\nLearned counsel\t for the respondents, contended that in view<br \/>\nof the\tfact that 60 acres of the land is declared to be not<br \/>\na private  forest  and\tin  view  of  the  language  in\t the<br \/>\nPreservation Act  that unless  it is  a\t private  forest  as<br \/>\ndefined under  the Vesting  Act, the Preservation Act has no<br \/>\napplication and,  therefore,  the  notification\t is  clearly<br \/>\nillegal.\n<\/p>\n<p>     In view  of the  diverse contentions, the question that<br \/>\narises for  consideration is:  whether the view taken by the<br \/>\nHigh Court  is correct\tin law?\t It is\tseen that  there are<br \/>\npeculiar facts\tin this\t case. While the appeal in the first<br \/>\nstage was  pending in  the High\t Court, a  Commission of two<br \/>\nadvocates  and\t an  expert   officer,\tAssistant  Director,<br \/>\nCardamom Board\tcame to\t be appointed  by the  High Court to<br \/>\ninspect the  area and  submit the  report. The\treport would<br \/>\nclearly establish  that finding\t was not upset by this Court<br \/>\non the\tearlier occasion and it would show that 25 acres was<br \/>\nfound to be cultivated with cardamom plantation. The rest of<br \/>\nthe area  was found  to be  a forest  area. Consequently, it<br \/>\nbecame a  private forest.  A declaration  to that effect was<br \/>\ngiven by the Division Bench. But, when the appeal came to be<br \/>\nfiled in view of the admission made by the respondent in the<br \/>\ncounter\t affidavit   that  the\trespondent  was\t cultivating<br \/>\ncardamom plantation in an extent of 60 acres of the land, by<br \/>\nvirtue\tof   exclusion\tof   cardamom  plantation  from\t the<br \/>\noperation of  the private forest under the Vesting Act, this<br \/>\nCourt declared\tto that\t effect and  held it  to  be  not  a<br \/>\nprivate forest. But, instead of relegating the matter to the<br \/>\nHigh Court  for further\t identification of  actual  existing<br \/>\narea, permission  was given to the respondents to select any<br \/>\narea of\t 60 acres  out of  3000 acres for the purpose of his<br \/>\nretention. Consequently,  he selected  60 acres of the land.<br \/>\nIt is  not in dispute that out of 25 acres of the land found<br \/>\nto be  under use  for cardamom\tplantation by the High Court<br \/>\nand in\taddition thereto  any other 35 acres of land had not<br \/>\nbeen retained. Instead, the land the respondent had retained<br \/>\na compact  block of 60 acres of his choice. Consequently, by<br \/>\noperation of the judgment of this Court, 60 acres came to be<br \/>\ndeclared to  be not  a private\tforest, Yet,  in fact, there<br \/>\nexist forest  growth in 60 acres of land. The admission made<br \/>\nby the\trespondents was\t that they  have permitted by way of<br \/>\nsale, third  parties to\t cut and  carry the  trees. It would<br \/>\nappear that there are valuable trees in the 60 acres of land<br \/>\nas admitted before us. The object of the Preservation Act is<br \/>\nto preserve forestation and not de-forestation.\n<\/p>\n<p>     Consequently,   though   notification   was   published<br \/>\nprohibiting the\t respondents from  felling the trees; in the<br \/>\ncircumstances, we  are of  the view  that  the\tnotification<br \/>\nshould\tbe   suitably  modified\t  as  under.  The  competent<br \/>\nauthority is  directed to give permission to the respondents<br \/>\nto fell\t such of  the trees  which are\tnot referred  to  in<br \/>\nSection 2(e)  of the Preservation Act and if other trees are<br \/>\nnot of such value, then necessary permission may be given to<br \/>\nthe respondents\t to fell  the trees  so as  to enable him to<br \/>\ncultivate  cardamom   plantation  or  and  other  plantation<br \/>\noperations permissible\tunder the  law so  that\t respondents<br \/>\nwould enjoy  60 acres  of the land, the benefit flowing from<br \/>\nthe earlier  judgment. We  hold that  this  direction  would<br \/>\nensue compliance  of the  Preservation Act  and at  the same<br \/>\ntime the right given to the respondents to enjoy 60 acres of<br \/>\nland would be sustained.\n<\/p>\n<p>     It\t would\tbe  open  to  the  respondents\tto  make  an<br \/>\napplication to\tthe  competent\tauthority.  On\tmaking\tsuch<br \/>\napplication, the  competent authority,\twith  prior  notice,<br \/>\nwould inspect  the area\t in presence  of the respondents and<br \/>\nany of\tthe persons  on their  behalf and determine which of<br \/>\nthe trees  coming under\t the  definition  of  &#8220;trees&#8221;  under<br \/>\nSection 2  [e] of  Preservation Act  should be preserved and<br \/>\nwhich of  the trees  should be\tpermitted to  be felled\t and<br \/>\ncarried away.  If any difficulty arises in implementation of<br \/>\nthis order,  it would be open to the parties to approach the<br \/>\nHigh Court  and\t seek  further\tdirection  in  this  behalf,<br \/>\nThereafter,  the  State\t Government  is\t directed  to  issue<br \/>\nmodified notification in terms of Section 5 of the Act.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The appeal\t is accordingly\t disposed of in terms of the<br \/>\nabove direction. No costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India State Of Kerala &amp; Ors vs M.N. Sankara Narayanan &amp; Ors on 7 August, 1996 Equivalent citations: JT 1996 (7), 462 1996 SCALE (6)148 Author: K Ramaswamy Bench: Ramaswamy, K. PETITIONER: STATE OF KERALA &amp; ORS. Vs. RESPONDENT: M.N. SANKARA NARAYANAN &amp; ORS. DATE OF JUDGMENT: 07\/08\/1996 BENCH: RAMASWAMY, K. BENCH: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>State Of Kerala &amp; Ors vs M.N. 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