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STATE OF KERALA – Appellant
Versus
T. EASWARANUNNI S/O LAKSHMI KAVU VARASYAR – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
NITIN JAMDAR, C.J.
1. A large tract of private forest lands in Ongallur Village in Palakkad District was notified as ecologically fragile under the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Ordinance of 2000. The Custodian under Section 19(3)(b) of the Kerala Forests (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act, 2003 cancelled the notification. Following a public protest, the successor Custodian, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, considered the matter extensively. He, along with the surveyor, visited the site and concluded that these lands have the characteristics of being ecologically fragile and the notification was cancelled fraudulently and with collusion, restored the status of the lands as being covered by the notification. The owners of the lands, the Petitioners, filed W.P. (C) No. 37939 of 2017, which was allowed by the learned Single Judge by judgment dated 6 February 2020, on the ground that the Custodian had no power of review; however, the restriction on cutting the trees under the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986, was retained.
2. A brief overview of the State law on the subject of trees and forest will
The court upheld the Custodian's authority to review exemptions of ecologically fragile lands, emphasizing the need to prevent fraud and protect public interest.
The court affirmed that the property in question does not qualify as 'Ecologically Fragile Land' or 'Forest' under the Kerala Forest Act, based on the evidence presented.
Point of Law : Any interpretation, which leads to injustices and absurdity, must be avoided and, in such situations, court may look into the purpose for which, the statute has been brought and would ....
The court reaffirmed that the State holds fiduciary duties under public trust principles to protect forest land, requiring valid claims for restoration and emphasizing the need for adherence to legal....
'Forest', which speaks of lands which are principally covered with naturally grown trees and undergrowth and includes any recognized, declared, protected or otherwise forest land.
Under EFL Act, applicant has to prove that land is principally cultivated with long duration crops or is a plantation, or beneficial enjoyment for a building, which alone can exclude it from definiti....
The court clarified that a property exempted under the Vesting Act may still be classified as ecologically fragile under the EFL Act, emphasizing the need for evidence of cultivation as of the appoin....
The classification of land as 'ecologically fragile' under the EFL Act is upheld when sufficient evidence supports the environmental status, and co-sharers have standing to appeal.
Exemption from vesting under the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act does not change the classification of land as a private forest, and the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act has overr....
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