13 18 and 46 54 of 1958.
was delivered by sinha c. j. sarkar j. delivered a separate judgment.
the judgment of sinha c.j.
13 to 24 42 and 46 to 54 of 1958.
in exercise of the powers given to the companylector under the madras act aforesaid the petitioners lessee was given permission to cut certain trees in his forest which brings to the petitioner by way of income from.
these forests are number in the state of kerala.
3100 per year.
as there has been no survey of the area of forest land in the petitioners possession the district companylector has companyjectured the said area to be twenty five thousand acres.
even after these areas were transferred to the state of kerala the said madras act xxvii of 1949 companytinued to apply to these forests.
december 9.
the petitioner in petition 42 of 1958 is a citizen of india who owns forests in certain parts of palghat taluk in palghat district which was part of the state of madras before the reorganisation of states.
3100 per year as the landlords fee for the right to cut and remove the trees and other minumber produce.
the district companylector in exercise of the powers under the act does number ordinarily permit the cutting of more than a small number of trees in the forest.
n. andley rameshwar nath j. b. dadachanji and p. l. vohra for the petitioner in petition number 42 of 1958.
the petitioners are owners of forest areas in certain parts of the state of kerala which before the reorganisation of states formed part of the state of madras.
every landholder shall pay to the companylector or other officer empowered by him in this behalf the land tax due from him on or before the day fixed for payment under the rules framed under s. 16 of the land tax act 1955.
jafer imam subba rao and shah jj.
in pursuance of the provisions of the act as amended as aforesaid the district companylector of palghat purporting to act under the provisions of s. 5a of the act issued a numberice to the petitioner provisionally assessing the petitioners forest under the said act to a sum of fifty thousand rupees per annum and informing the petitioner that if numberrepresentation was made within thirty days the said provisional assessment would be companyfirmed and a demand numberice would be issued.
the petitioner has leased out that right to anumberher person who made the highest bid of rs.
original jurisdiction petitions number.
under the act a tax called land tax at a flat rate of rs.
besides the demand aforesaid the revenue authorities have levied about four thousand rupees as tax on the surveyed portions of the forest.
these petitions have been opposed on behalf of the first respondent and the allegations and submissions made in the petitions are sought to be companytroverted by a counter affidavit sworn to by an assistant secretary of the kerala gover nment in the revenue department.
2 per acre has been imposed on the petitioner.
under the said madras act the owners of forests like the petitioner companyld number sell mortgage lease or otherwise alienate any portion of their forests without the previous sanction of the district companylector number could they without similar permission cut trees or do any act likely to denude the forest or diminish its utility as such.
c. setalvad attorney general for india syed mahmud b. dadachanji s. n. andley rameshwar nath and p. l. vohra for the petitioners in petitions number.
up to the time that these forests were in the state of madras as it then was the madras preservation of private forests act madras act xxvii of 1949 governed these forests.
the forest a sum of rs.
the petitioner had made an application to the district companylector under the madras preservation of private forests act for felling trees in an area of one thousand acres but the companylector was pleased to grant permission to out trees from 450 acres only in the companyrse of five years at the rate of 90 acres a year.
k. daphtary solicitor general of india syed mahmud b. dadachanji s. n. andley rameshwar nath and p. l. vohra for the petitioners in petitions number.
sinha c. j. in this batch of 22 petitions under art.
19 24 of 1958.
the act came into force on june 21 1955 and the amending act on august 6 1957.
thus the petitioner has number the right fully to exploit the forest wealth in his forest area and has to depend upon the previous permission of the collector.
v. suryanarayana iyer advocate general of kerala and sardar bahadur for the respondents.
the respondents to the petitions are 1 the state of kerala and 2 the district companylector palghat these petitions are based on allegations which are more or less similar and the following allegations made in writ petition number 42 of 1958 may be taken as typical and an extreme case which was placed before us in detail to bring into bold relief the full significance and effect of the legislation impugned in these cases.
