The felling of unproductive trees and replacement with new ones in orchards, without changing the area, user, or character of the land, does not violate the provisions of Sections 4B and 4C of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955.

Altamas Kabir, J. : There two matters have been heard along with several other matters as they all involve the same questions of law and the facts are more or less similar.

2. The common case of the petitioners in all these matters is that they are the owners of orchards comprised mostly of mango trees in the districts of Maida and Murshidabad. Accordingly to the petitioners, some of the mango and other trees in their orchards have become old and have lost their optimum fruit-bearing capacity and are no longer economically profitable. It is the petitioner's case that such unproductive trees are required to be replaced by new trees with higher fruit-yielding capacity.

3. According to the petitioners, when they began to cut down the trees which were no longer capable of yielding a profitable harvest, they were told by employees belonging to the office of the respondents to stop cutting the trees without the prior permission of the appropriate authority.

4. Being prevented from felling the trees in question, the petitioners have filed these writ applications, inter alia, for a direction upon the respondents, their subordinates and agents, not to cause any obstruction to the petitioners in felling and removing their unproductive trees and for a further direction on the concerned respondents to issue necessary permits for removing the felled trees.

5. Arguments on behalf of the writ petitioners were advanced by Shri Kamal Krishna Chakraborti and Shri Ramdulal Manna. It was their common submission that there is no legal bar to a person cutting down old and unproductive trees and replacing them with new plants which would greatly increase the production of the fruit in question; mostly mangoes, as per as these writ petitioners are concerned.

6. It was urged that in the process of felling old trees and replacing them with new plants, there .was no change in the character or nature and use;' of the land. The orchards would remain orchards and would not be put to any other use. It was submitted that the provisions of Ss. 4B and/or 4C of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955, would not, therefore, be attracted to the facts of these cases as to change of user of the lands was involved.

7. It was also contended that since the trees in question comprised orchards, the provisions of the Indian Forests Act. 1927, would also not be applicable in the Instant cases, and there was, therefore, no legal justification for the action taken by the respondents in preventing the petitioners from cutting down and removing old and unproductive trees from their respective orchards and gardens and replacing them with new plants of better variety and yield.

8. Appearing for the State and the State respondents in all the matters, the learned Government Pleader urged that even if there was no express legal bar to the cutting down of trees, implied bar was engrained in the provisions pf Ss 4 B and 4C of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955, hereinafter referred to as the "1955 Act".

9. The learned Government Pleader submitted that s. 4B of the 1955 Act provides for m3lntf'ttance and preservation of land and a prohibition has been imposed on the raiyat holding any land from changing its character or from converting the Same for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was settled or previously held, except with the previous order in writing of the Collector under s. 4C.

10. The learned Government Pleader pointed out that the first proviso to s. 48 of the 1955 Act permits a raiyat to plant and grow trees on his lands which were within the prescribed ceiling limit and were not being cultivated by a Bargadar. The Government pleader urged that the reverse implication of such a provision would be that the raiyat would not be entitled to cut down trees, except with prior permission, as provided for in s. 4C.

11. The learned Government Pleader submitted further that in many cases, only in order to make quick and easy money, many orchard owners were felling the