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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.