Kerala Preservation of Trees Act

Sec.5 - The documents produced by the petitioner will show that the extent of 80 acres of land in question is not a private forest, but it was rubber plantation on the appointed day. Such property cannot be converted into private forest merely by the issue of the notification under Section 5. The property in question was declared to be not a private forest by this Court and so long as that findings subsist, the notification under Section 5 will not affect the property. When it is found that the property is not a private forest, Section 5 notification can have no effect on such property and this Court can ignore that notification. It is not necessary to include the prayer for quashing the notification. [The Superintendant of Police (Rural) v. M. Rajagopal. W.A.No.2299 of 1999, dated 2-12-1999. Mr. AR. Lakshmanan & S. Sankarasubban.]