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Judgment
The subject matter of the writ petition is same as the subject matter of three O.As on the file of the Forest Tribunal, Palakkad in O.A.Nos.1417/1974, 1418/1974 and 54/1975.
By a common judgment, the Forest Tribunal disposed the three OAs and certain extent of land were ordered to be returned to the petitioners by the forest department. The forest department carried this matter in an appeal as M.F.A.No.221/1978 and the department was unsuccessful.
Despite of lapse of more than three decades, the land was not restored to the petitioners, this is how the petitioners have approached this Court.
Learned special Government Pleader for forest department would submit that the department is proposing to notify this land as ecologically fragile land under the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act 2003 [for short, the Act]. Therefore the department cannot return the land to the petitioners.
As a matter stands now there is no notification. If that be so, the department is bound to restore the land to the petitioners as covered by the judgment in the above O.As, produced as Ext.P1. Accordingly, there shall be a direction to the department to restore the land to the petitioners within a period of three months. However it is made clear that, this is subject to any notification to be issued by the department under the Act.
The writ petition is disposed of as above.