Forest lands in Kerala cannot generally be regarded as agricultural lands and therefore cannot be the subject of agrarian reform.

1. These writ petitions attack the constitutional validity of the Kerala Private Forests Vesting and Assignment Act 26 of 1971 passed into law on 23-8-197i replacing an earlier Ordinance 14 of 1971. The Act is sought to be saved only under Art.31 A of the Constitution; and bereft of the protection of that Article, it was conceded that it would be unconstitutional. The only question therefore is whether the Act qualifies for the protection of Art.31A.

2. The provisions of the Act are briefly these: The preamble states that private forests in Kerala are agricultural lands and that the Government consider 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 in the State; and that to give effect to this, it is necessary that the private forests should vest in the Government. S.2 is the definition section. Clause (f) thereof defines "Private forests" in relation to the Malabar area of the State, (where the bulk of the private forests are situated) as any land to which the Madras Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1949 applied, excluding: (A) lands which are garden or nilam, (B) lands which are principally used for cultivation of tea' coffee etc., (C) lands which are principally cultivated with cashew or other fruit bearing trees or are principally cultivated with any other agricultural crops, and (D) sites of buildings and lands appurtenant to buildings. S.3 provides that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law or in any contract etc., from the appointed day (10th May 1971) the ownership and possession of all private forests in the State shall stand transferred to and vest in the Government, free from all encumbrances, and the right, title and interest of the owner or any other person thereof shall stand extinguished: Under sub-s. 4 of the Section, notwithstanding anything contained in the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, private forests are to be deemed to be lands to which Chap. III of the Land Reforms Act, 1963 is applicable, and for the limited purpose of sub-sections (2) and (3). (Sub-s. (2) exempts private forests within the ceiling limit under the Land Reforms Act from the vesting provision in sub-s. (1); and sub-s, (3) exempts so much of private forests as are held under a registered document executed before the appointed day, which, together with other lands to which Chap. Ill of the Land Reforms Act is applicable, does not exceed the ceiling limit prescribed by that Act). S.4 enacts that all private forests vested in the Government shall, so long as they remain vested in the Government, be deemed to be reserved forests and be governed by the provisions of the Kerala Forests Act 1961. S.6 provides that the boundaries of the private forests shall be demarcated as soon as possible. S.9 enacts that no compensation is payable for the vesting. Under S.10, the Government, after reserving such extent of private forests vested in it, as may be necessary for the promotion of agriculture or the welfare of the agricultural population, shall assign on registry or on lease, to the classes of persons mentioned therein, the remaining private forests on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed. By S. H the assignment under S.10 shall, as far as may be, be completed within two years from the date of publication of the Act. S.15 provides for the constitution of the Agriculturists Welfare Fund to be utilised for a settlement and welfare of persons to whom private forests are assigned under S.10. The Fund shall consist of grants or loans from the Government and monies received by the Government by the sale of trees on private forests. Such, in substance, are the provisions of the Act.

3. In order to qualify for the protection of Art.31A of the Constitution, the two essential conditions to be satisfied are: (1) Does the law relate to the acquisition of any "estate" or any rights therein or the extinguishme