BHAVANI TEA AND PRODUCE CO. LTD. versus STATE OF KERALA AND ORS. AND VICE VERSA

Citation: [1991] 1 S.C.R. 550 · Decided: 20-02-1991 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K.N. SAIKIA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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BHA VANI TEA AND PRODUCE CO. LTD. 
v. 
STATE OF KERALA AND ORS. 
AND 
VICE VERSA 
FEBRUARY 20, 1991 
[K.N. SAIKIA AND M. FATHIMA BEEVI, JJ.] 
Land Reforms: Kerala Private Forests (Vesting & Assignment) 
Act, 1971 (Act 26 of 1971): Sections 2(f), 3, 8-Private forests-
Company engaged mainly in plantations of tea, coffee, cardamom, 
rubber etc.-Certain areas/plots not under plantation-Plantation 
abandoned-Whether this to be deemed 'reverted to nature'-Held no-
Madras Preservation of Private Forests Act-Kerala Reforms Act, 
1963. 
Sections. 2(/), 3, 8-Private forests-Areas on the periphery of the 
Com,pany·s estate admittedly virgin-The same held vested in the 
' State-Whether the provisions of the Vesting Act have been applied 
correctly to the facts. as found by Courts b"elow keeping in mind its 
objects and purposes. 
Bhavani Tea and Produce Co., a Public Ltd. Company is engaged 
maW.ly in plantations of Tea, Coffee, Cardamom, Rubber and some 
other plantations in the western ghats comprising R.S. Nos. 2, 3, 3/1 
and 5 /1 in Sholyar village Mannargbat Taluk of Palghat District, 
Kerala known as Siruvani' Group of Estates of four divisions namely, 
Siruvani, Varddymalai, Elamali and Halton with the total area in its 
possession being 3,151.20 acres. 
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As the forest officials undertook survey over the Company's plan- ~ 
tations under the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting & Assignment) Act, 
1911, which had come into force on 10~5.1971, to locate and determine 
the forest area in the estate that would vest in the State, the Company 
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tnoved an application under section 8 of the Act before the Tribunai 
asserting· that no portion of the land in the estate as shown in the 
schedule to the application was liable to vest in the state. An advocate 
commissioner was appointed by the Tribunal to prepare a plan and to 
report regarding the areas claimed by the state as vested forests. The '--(_-
Advocate Commissioner in his f"mal report found an area of 1397 .60 
H acres identified as plots nos. 1 to 69 claimed .by the State as vested forests. 
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BHAYANI TEA v. STATE 
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The Company thereupon amended its application showing these 69 
plots as schedule 'B' to the application. Out of the total 3,151.20 acres 
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1, 753.60 acres are admitted not to have vested under the Act. Of the 
remaining 1, 397.60 acres, 609.91 acres are admitted to be private 
forest on the periphery of the Estate and hence vested under the Act. 
This covers plots Nos. 11, 18, 25, 28, 30 and 63. Out of the remaining B 
plots, the Tribunal allowed 33 plots totalling 206.06 acres and declared 
total area of 1,184.68 acres as vested forests. Both parties preferred 
~ appeals to the High Court which by its impugned judgment partly 
allowed the appeal of the company as well as of the State. Both sides 
have again preferred appeals by special leave to this court. 
The result of the High Court's judgmeµt is that the dispute before C 
this Court is now confined only to an area of 641.73 acres covered by 
plots nos: 12,13, 14,15,16,26,27,29,33,36,37,38,39,40,41,44,46, 
50, 51, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 64 and 65. On behalf of the company it has 
been argued that these disputed plots must be held to have been princi-
pally used for cultivation of tea, coffee, rubbers and cardamom etc. and D 
for purposes ancillory thereto; that if these plots are not exempted, the 
plantation will be broken down in unity' economy and continguity and 
that the plantation must be taken as a whole and not piece by piece or 
plot by plot . 
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The argument on behalf of the State was to emphasise the objects 
and purposes of the vesting Act namely, to distribute agricultural land 
to landlords, agriculturistsjlabourers so as to reduce the scarcity of 
such land, and not to allow few individuals to remain in control. It was 
also contended that vesting Act did not use the word 'plantation' and 
therefore private forest has to be determined on the basis of land where 
upon forest stands irrespective of its size. 
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Keeping in view the detailed f'mdings of the Tribunal as well as 
the High Court this Court comes to the conclusion that out of the plots 
which are in dispute now as pointed out above, plot nos. 33, 39, 40, 44, 
46, 50, 51, 55, 58, 59 and 61 also have to be treated as not to have vested 
in the state under the vesting Act. As regards the existing roads falling G 
within the vested areas these shall have such margins on either side o
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