The State cannot retain payments made under mistake regarding ownership of trees on alienated sagu bane land, and such payments must be refunded.

ORDER :

1. The Petitioner is before this Court seeking for the following reliefs:

a. Issue of writ of Mandamus or an order of that nature to the Respondents 3 and 4 for refund of a sum of Rs.4,33,082.35/- (Four lakhs thirty three thousand and eighty two and thirty five paisa) to the petitioner by Setting aside the orders dated 25.04.2012 and 4.4.2013 passed by the R3 and R4 which are marked as Annexure-C, No.A8/GL-194/MA.HA/2010-11 and Annexure-D, No.Bhoomi/Tree Authority/476/2012-13.

b. To pass such other order or direction as deems fit and proper to grant in the circumstances of the facts of the case to meet the ends of justice and equity.

2. The petitioner claims to be a purchaser of lands in Sy.No.23 measuring 25 acres and Sy.No.29/7 measuring 13.23 acres situated Biligeri Village, Biligeri Post, Madikeri Taluk, Kodagu District. The petitioner had made an application to the Deputy Conservator of Forest for cutting 349 trees, which was so accorded on 01.02.1983 with a condition that the petitioner would be liable to deposit the value of the timber cut and removed. In that background, the petitioner valued the trees at Rs.4,33,082.35/-and deposited the same. After the trees were cut and removed, the petitioner realizing that the above land was an alienated Sagu Bane land, which had been accessed to land revenue, had made an application for refund of the money since there was no provision for the Conservator of Forests to impose a condition for depositing of the above amounts since the land exclusively belonged to the Petitioner and as such, any produce on the said land belonged to the Petitioner. The said request came to be rejected by an order dated 25.04.2012 by the Assistant Conservator of Forests contending that the earlier alienation of the Sagu Bane lands in the year 1897 cannot be considered under the Land Revenue Act, 1964 and as such, the amounts could not be refunded. It is challenging the same that the Petitioner is before this Court.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner would again reiterate that once the sagu bane land has been alienated and admitted to revenue and the owner thereof has been making payment of the revenue, the land becomes the exclusive property of the owner, that is, the petitioner herein. The State not being the owner of the land, the petitioner being entitled to the land in his own right, the State cannot assert any title on any trees which have been grown on the said land and in this regard, he relies upon the decision of this Court in the case of E.G.White vs. State of Karnataka, (1979) 2 KAR.L.J. 233 more particularly Paras 5 and 12 thereof which have been reproduced hereunder for easy reference:-

5. The petitioners have produced a certified extract of the Jamabandi of wet and dry, Coffee etc., of Kodagarahalli village for the year 1975 in respect of the two lands in question. It has been specifically stated in the said extract of Jamabandi that the lands in question are the Paradheena Bane Land (alienated bane lands) from the year 1882-1883. The correctness of these entries in the record of rights have not been disputed and on the contrary, as pointed out above, it has been stated in the statement of objections that these lands are alienated bane lands. In view of these undisputed facts, the question that arises for consideration is;

“Whether the title to the trees standing on the lands in question can still be said to vest in the State Government inspite of the fact that the lands have become alienated bane?”

12. The contention of the learned Counsel for the petitioner is that in respect of all those trees standing on the lands in question on the date when the lands in question ceased to be ‘bane land’ and became ‘alienated bane lands’, the Government continued to have its title to only such trees. But, in respect of the trees which have been grown afterwards subsequent to the date of the lands in question becoming ‘Paradheena bane lands’ in the year 1882-1883, either from the stumps or roo