JUDGMENT :

M.R. SHAH, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 23.11.2017 passed by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in Writ Appeal No. 29/2011, by which the Division Bench of the High Court has dismissed the said appeal preferred by the appellants herein and has not interfered with the judgment and order dated 8.7.2010 passed by the learned Single Judge of the High Court in Writ Petition (C) No.11252/2008, by which the learned Single Judge directed the appellants herein to accept the basic tax from the respondents herein – original writ petitioners under the provisions of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘1961 Act’) with respect to the lands in question, the Village Officer, Kannur District, Kerala and others have preferred the present appeal.

2. The facts leading to the present appeal in a nutshell are as under:

That the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘1971 Act’) came into force in the year 1971. Section 3 of the 1971 Act provides that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, or in any contract or other document, but subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), with effect on and from the appointed day, the ownership and possession of all private forests in the State of Kerala shall by virtue of the 1971 Act stand transferred to and vested in the Government free from all encumbrances, and the right, title and interest of the owner or any other person in any private forest shall stand extinguished. Section 4 of the 1971 Act provides that all vested forests are deemed Reserved Forests.

2.1 The area/land in question was notified as vested Forest on 8.7.1977 under Section 4 of the 1971 Act. That the Land Tribunal, Thaliparamba (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Land Tribunal”) issued Purchase Certificates in favour of the respondents herein in respect of 12 acres of land in R.S. No. 292/1A in Naduvil village. That the Tahsildar, Taliparamba and the Taluk Surveyor, Taliparamba inspected the schedule property and surveyed the area. It was found that part of the property involved in the patta was actually the vested forest in R.S. No. 292/1A in Naduvil village. The survey sketch was produced before the Land Tribunal in the objections filed by the Forest department before the Land Tribunal.

2.2 Thereafter, the respondents herein filed OA Nos. 13/1986 and 14/1986 before the Forest Tribunal, Kozhikode (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Forest Tribunal’), constituted under the 1971 Act. A counter affidavit was filed on behalf of the appellants to the aforesaid OAs before the Forest Tribunal.

2.3 Based on the decision of the District Development Committee, a site inspection of the property was conducted on 25.9.1989. It was reported by the Deputy Collector vide letter dated 30.09.1989 addressed to the District Collector that the survey rock mark has been destroyed and that a refixation of the boundary is absolutely necessary. The respondents herein submitted a representation to the District Collector, Kannur to remedy their grievance.

2.4 The OAs filed by the respondents herein came to be dismissed by the Forest Tribunal vide order dated 12.3.1990. Thereafter as per the decision of the District Development Committee, the Taluk Surveyor, Taliparamba conducted a survey of the area on 30.5.1991 and re-fixed the boundary of the land in the possession of the respondents and the vested forest. Subsequently, notices were issued to the respondents on 23.12.1992 to show cause as to why the earlier decision granting Purchase Certificates should not be re-opened/cancelled. The said notices were challenged by the respondents before the High Court by way of O.P. No. 2678/1993. The High Court disposed of the said OP No. 2678/1993 vide order dated 9.9.1998 directing the authorities to complete the proceedings initiated.

2.5 Thereafter the Land Tribunal, vide order dated 16.4.2002,