1. Dispute over the vesting of plantation lands in the State under the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971, based on definitions of private forests. (Para 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 )
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1991 Supreme(SC) 107
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
K.N.Saikia : M.Fathima Beevi
Bhavani Tea And Produce Company Limited
Versus
State Of Kerala
Case No. : 826 of 1991
Date of Decision : 2/20/91
Advocates Appeared: Iyer T.S.Krishnamurthy : Kumar V.Jai : Manohar P.K. : Nambiar K.R. : Nambiyar A.S. : Pillai P.K. : Poti P.S. : Sudhakaran K. : Vasudevan Shanta : Wariyar T.R.G.
Advocates:
A.S.NAMBIYAR, K.R.NAMBIAR, K.SUDHAKARAN, P.K.MANOHARAN, P.K.PALLI, P.S.POTI, SHANTA VASUDEVAN, T.R.G.VARIYAR, T.S.KRISHNAMURTHY IYER, V.JAI KUMAR
A.S.NAMBIYAR, K.R.NAMBIAR, K.SUDHAKARAN, P.K.MANOHARAN, P.K.PALLI, P.S.POTI, SHANTA VASUDEVAN, T.R.G.VARIYAR, T.S.KRISHNAMURTHY IYER, V.JAI KUMAR
Mere abandonment of cultivation does not convert plantation land into a private forest unless intended by the owner or notified by authority. For determining "principally cultivated" areas, plantation divisions should be treated as units, including ancillary lands, rather than analyzing plots in isolation.
Headnote:(A) Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 - Section 2(f) and Section 3 - Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949 - Land Reforms Act, 1963 - Section 2(44) and Section 2(47) - Vesting of private forests - Definition of private forest and plantation - Whether abandoned plantation land reverts to nature and becomes a private forest - Mere abandonment of cultivation does not convert plantation land into a forest unless there is a specific decision by the owner or notification by the appropriate authority; visual appearance alone is insufficient to determine such conversion. (Paras 34, 37)
(B) Determination of principally cultivated area - While an entire estate may not be treated as a single unit, individual divisions of a plantation should be considered as units, including lands used for ancillary purposes, to determine if the area is principally cultivated. (Para 39)
Facts of the case:
A public limited company engaged in plantations challenged the vesting of several plots of land in the State under the vesting act. The company claimed the lands were used for plantation crops and ancillary purposes, while the State contended they were private forests. The High Court had held that some abandoned plots had reverted to nature and thus vested in the State.
Findings of Court:
The court found that several disputed plots were part of plantation divisions and should be treated as principally cultivated. It rejected the theory that mere abandonment of cultivation automatically converts plantation land into a forest. However, one specific plot was held to vest in the State to serve the ends of distributive justice.
Issues: Whether abandoned plantation lands "revert to nature" to become private forests under the vesting act and whether plantation areas should be analyzed plot-by-plot or as larger units.
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that if land was not a private forest under the previous preservation act and was a plantation on the appointed day, it does not become a private forest simply due to lack of maintenance or abandonment. Furthermore, for the purpose of determining "principally cultivated" areas, plantation divisions should be treated as units rather than analyzing every small plot in isolation.
Result: High Court's judgment modified; appeals partly allowed.
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2. Whether disputed lands were principally cultivated plantations or private forests, and whether the land should be evaluated as a whole unit or plot-by-plot. (Para 13 , 36 , 38 )
3. Analysis of the MPPF Act and Vesting Act definitions, rejecting the theory that abandoned plantations automatically revert to nature to become vested forests. (Para 28 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 )
4. Abandonment of cultivation does not convert plantation land into forest; plantations should be treated as units (divisions) to determine if they are principally cultivated. (Para 34 , 37 , 39 )
5. High Court judgment modified; specific plots exempted from vesting while others are declared vested in the State. (Para 39 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 54 , 56 )
6. Does the abandonment of a plantation convert it into a private forest under the Vesting Act?
No. Mere abandonment or decay of plants does not convert plantation land into a forest unless the owner intended it or the appropriate authority notified it. The theory that such land naturally reverts to forest is not supported by the Act. (Para 34 , 37 )
7. How should plantation land be evaluated to determine if it is principally cultivated?
While the entire estate need not be taken as one unit, it is reasonable to treat each division of the plantation as a unit, subject to natural and geographical factors, rather than evaluating strictly plot-by-plot. (Para 39 )
8. What is the relationship between the MPPF Act and the Vesting Act regarding private forests in the Malabar district?
In the Malabar district, private forest is defined as land to which the Madras Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949 applied before the appointed day, excluding gardens, nilams, and lands used principally for specified plantation crops. (Para 23 , 32 , 33 )
9. Can land used for ancillary purposes be exempted from vesting under the Vesting Act?
Yes. Lands used for purposes ancillary to the cultivation of plantation crops, such as windbelts or water channels vital for the plantation's administration and supply, are excludable from the definition of private forest. (Para 23 , 40 , 45 )
JUDGMENT
K.N.SAIKIA, J.
(1) SPECIAL leave granted.
(2) CIVILARISING out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 7314 of 1987 and civil appeals arising out of Special Leave Petitions (Civil) Nos. 6837-38 of 1987 are from common judgment of the High court of Kerala dated 10/09/1986 passed in M.F.A. Nos. 48 and 291 of 1981. The appellant Bhavani Tea and Produce Co. Ltd., hereinafter referred to as the company, is a public limited company engaged mainly in plantations of tea, coffee, cardamom, rubber and other plantation crops over an extensive area in the Western Ghats close to the border of the States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. On the basis of their title deeds, the company claimed to have purchased an extent of 3273.72 acres of land, but it had only 3151.20 acres in occupation. Bulk of the plantations were purchased by the company in 1946 from M/s B.B. Rubber Estates Ltd., hereinafter called the vendors, and the remaining estates acquired in 1955 and 1956. The vendors were in possession of 3151.20 acres of land situated in surveyed lands in R.S. Nos. 2, 3, 3/1 and 5/1 in Sholayar village, Mannarghat Taluk of Palghat district which belonged in `Jenmom to Mannarghat Mooppil Sthanam and the vendors established the plantations taking the same on Verumpattam lease in the year 1935. The plantations are now known as Siruvani Group of Estates of four divisions namely, Siruvani, Varddymalai, Elamali and Halton.
(3) THE Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 (Act 26 of 1971, hereinafter referred to as the Vesting Act, an Act to provide for the vesting in the government private forests in the State of Kerala and for the assignment thereof to agriculturists and agricultural labourers for cultivation, extending to the whole of Kerala State, received the assent of the President on 23/08/1971, and as provided in its S. 1(3 it was deemed to have come into force on the tenth day of May, 1971 which was also declared to be the appointed day. The preamble to the Vesting Act indicates that the private forests in the State of Kerala are agricultural lands and the government considered that such agricultural lands should be so utilised as to increase the agricultural production in the State and to promote the welfare of the agricultural population of the State. The Statement of Objects and Reasons also said that the private forests as defined in the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 (1 of 1964 were exempt from the ceiling thereunder and that with high density of population there was scarcity of land and it was against the Directive Principles of State Policy to allow a few persons to be in ownership and control of these agricultural lands. In other words, the object of the Vesting Act was to distribute the private forest lands among the agriculturists and agricultural labourers for agriculture.
(4) THE forest officials having commenced survey over the companys plantations land from 28/06/1977, it approached the tribunal under S. 8 of the Vesting Act for a declaration that no portion of the land in R.S. Nos. 2, 3, 3/1 and 5/1 in Sholayar Village, Nannarghat Taluk, Palghat District shown in the schedule to the application was liable to vest in the State under the Vesting Act.
(5) THE company maintained that at the time of the Vesting Act coming into force out of the companys lands about 10 acres were covered by roads, 50 acres by buildings, 490.14 acres by tea plants, 700 acres by coffee plants, 798.56 acres by cardamom and 250 acres by rubber plantation. Besides an area of 60 acres was maintained as windbelts and an area of 189.50 was reserved for the purpose of Firewood meant for the preparation of rubber for the market. The company claimed that the entire area was thus principally cultivated with tea, coffee, cardamom and rubber and for the purposes ancillary thereto and that total 2338.70 acres were utilised for plantations by the end of 1969. The entire area having stated to have been principa
