J U D G M E N T

K. Vinod Chandran,J The appeals are filed from a common order of the Forest Tribunal.

The respondents who were the applicants before the Forest Tribunal claimed exclusion under S.2 (f)(1)(i) of the Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 ( hereinafter, 'the Act of 1971'). Having looked at State of Kerala v. K.C.Moosahaji 1984 KLT 494 and K.M.Abdu v. State of Kerala an unreported judgment in M.F.A. No. 3 of 2007 dated 14.3.2013, the Tribunal held that going by S.2(f) of the Act of 1971, if the Court is satisfied from the evidence produced before it that an item of property is not a forest, by its characteristics or otherwise, it can be held that it is not a private forest. In other words if an applicant before the Tribunal establishes that a property situated in Malabar district is not having the characteristics or features of a forest immediately prior to 10.05.1971, then such land cannot be said to be a private forest under S.2 (f) of the Act of 1971. It is on this premise that the applications were considered and disposed of, which we find to be legally erroneous from a reading of the Act and also the Full Bench decision in K.C.Moosa Haji (supra).

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