The Kerala Preservation of Private Forests Act, 1972 (No.16 of 1972)

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1. Short title a.nd commencement.-(!) This 
Act may be called the Kerala Contingency Fund 
(Amendment) Act, 1972. 
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force 
on the 28th day•of August, 1972. 
2. Amendment of section 2.-In sub-section (1) 
of section 2 of the Kerala Contmgency Fund Act, 
1957 (6 of 1957) (heremafter referred to .as the 
principal Act), for the words "one hundred and fifty 
lakhs of rupees", the words "three hundred lakhs of 
rupees" shall be substituted. 
3. Repeal and sa,·ing.-(1) The Kerala Con­
tingency Fund (Amendment) Ordinance, 1972 (8 of 
1972), is hereby repealed. 
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything 
done or any action taken under the principal Act as 
amended by the said Ordinance shall be deemed to 
have been done or taken under the prmcipal Act as 
amended by this Act. 
THE KERALA PRESERVATION OF PRIVATE 
FORESTS ACT, 1972 
Preamble. 
Sectiot!ls 
(Act 16 of 1972) 
CONTENTS 
1. Short title, extent, commencement and 
duration. 
2. Definitions. 
3. Preservation of private forests. 
4. Appeals. 
5. Power to prohibit or regulate certain acts. 
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Sections 
6. Applicability of Chapter VIII of Act 4 
of 1962. 
7. Penalties. 
8. Offences by compames. 
9. Jurisdiction of Magistrates • 
10. Inst1tutwn of prosecutions. 
11. Bar of suits. 
12. Indemnity. 
13. Certain alienations of private forests to be 
null and Yoid. 
14. Power to make rules. 
15. Power to remove difficulties. 
16. Repeal and saving. 
THE KERALA PRESERVATION OF PRIVATE 
FORESTS ACT, 1972 * .. 
(Act 16 of 1972) 
An Act to prevent the indiscriminate destruction 
of prh·ate forests and to regulate the customary 
and prescriptive rights therein 
Preamble.-WHEREAS the Kerala High Court 
has struck down the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting 
and Assignment) Act, 1971, as unconstitutional and 
void: 
AND WHEREAS appeals nave been filed before 
the Supreme Court against the above decision of the 
Kerala High Court ; 
7 AND vVHEREAS some Original Petitions 
I challengmg the validity of the said Act are pending 
in the Supreme Court; 
AND WHEREAS pending decision of the Supreme 
Court in the appeals and Original Petitions referred 
• Published m the Gazette Extraordmary No. 625, dated 2nd 
November, 1972. 
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to above, it is considered necessary to pre,·ent the 
indifwriminate destruction of pnvate forests and ~o 
regulate the customary and prescriptive rights 
therein ; 
BE it enacted in the Twenty-third Year of the • • 
Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent, commencement and 
duration.-(1) Th1s Act may be called the Kerala 
Preservation of Pnvate Forests Act, 1972. 
(2) It extends to the whole of the State oi 
Kerala. 
(3) It shall come mto force at once and shall 
cease to have effect on the 31st day of December, 
1973. 
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(4) Upon the expiry of th1s Act, the pro' 1sions .L) 
of sedwn 4 of the Interpretation and General Clauses 
Act, 1125 (VII of 1125), shall apply as lf this Act had 
then been repealed by an Act of the Kerala State 
Legislature. 
2. Definitions.-In this Act, unless the context 
otherwise requires,-
(a) "forest offence" means an offence punish­
able under this Act ; 
(b) ~~owner", in relation to a prh·ate forest, 
mcludes a mortgagee, lessee or other person having 
right to possession and enjoyment of the prh ate 
forest ; 
(c) nperson" includes a company, a religious or 
charitable institution of a public nature, a trust, a 
Hindu undivided family, a Marumakkathayam tarwad 
or tavazhi, an Aliyasanthana family or branch and a 
family governed by the Kerala Nambudiri Act, 1958 
(27 of 1958); 
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(d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules 
made under this Act ; 
(e) "private forest" means,-
(1) in relation to the Malabar d1stnct 
referred to in sub-section (2) of sectwh 5 of the States 
Hcorganisalion Act, 1956 (Central Act 37 of 1956),-
(1) any land to which the Madras Presen·a­
tion of Prhate Forests Act, 1949 
(Madras Act XXVII of 1949), applled 
immediately before the lOth day of 
May, 1971, excluding-
(A} lands which are gardens or nilams 
as defined m the Kerala Land 
Reforms Act, 1963 (1 of 1964); 
(B) lands which are used principally 
for the cultlvatwn of tea, coffee, 
cocoa, rubber, cardamom or 
cinnamon and lands used for any 
·purpose ancillary to the cultiva­
tion of such crops or for the 
preparation of the same for 
the market. 
Explanation.-Lands used for the construction of 
office buildings, godowns, factones, quarters for 
workmen, hospitals, schools and playgrounds shall 
be deemed to be lands used for purposes ancillary to 
the rultivatwn of such crops ; 
(C) lands which are principally cultiva­
ted with cashew or other fruit­
bearing trees or are principally 
cultivated with any other agricul­
tural crop ; and 
tD) sites of buildings and lands appur­
tenant to, and necessary for the 
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convenient enjoyment or use of, 
such buildings ; 
(ii) any forest not owned by the Govern­
ment, to which the Madras Preserva­
tion of Private Forests Act, 1949 • (Madras Act XXVII of 1949), did not 
apply, including waste lands which 
are enclaves within wooded areas; 
(2) in relation to the remaining areas in the 
State of Kerala, any forest not owned by the Govern­
ment, including waste lands which are enclaves 
within wooded areas. 
Explanabon.-For the purooses of this clause, a 
land shall be deemed to be a waste land notwithstand­
ing the existence thereon of ~cattered trees or shrubs; 
(f) the expresswns 'Forest Officer', 'tree', 
'timber', 'forest produce', 'cattle' and 'Magistrate' 
shall ha' e the meanmgs respectiYely ass1gned to them 
111 sectwn 2 of the Kerala Forest Act, 1961 (4 of 1962). 
3. Presen•ation of private forests.-( 1) No owner 
of any private forest shall, without the prevwus 
sanction of the District Collector, sell, mortgage, 
lease or otherwise alienate the whole or any portion 
of the private forest. 
Explanation.-Nothing in this sub-section shall 
be construed as preventing the owner from selling or 
otherwise dealing with the right 1o gather and remove 
forest produce other than trees, timber, reeds, 
charcoal, wild ammals and skms, tusks, horns, bones, 
and other parts or produce of such animals, in the 
usual or customary manner, for a penod not 
exceeding two years. 
(2) Any alienation in contra"ention of sub­
section (1) shall be null and void. 
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(3) No owner of any private forest and no 
person claiming under him, whether by virtue of a 
contrF~ct, licence or any other transaction entered 
into before or after the commencement of this Act or 
any other person shall, without the previou~ 
perm1ssion of the District Collector~ cut trees from, 
or cu1th·ate, the pri\·ate forest or do any act likely 
to denude the private forest or alter the nature of the 
forest or diminish its utility as a forest. 
(4) Notwithstanding anythmg contamed 111 
sub- section (1) or sub-sectiOn (3), the GO\ ernrnent 
may exempt any private forest or class of private 
l orests or class of trees therein from all or any of the 
provisions of this section. • 
4. Appeals.- Any person aggrieved by an order 
under sub-section (1) of section 3 or under sub-sectiOn 
\3) of that sectiOn in regard to the sanction or 
permission referred t6 m that sub-sectiOn may, within 
two months of the receipt of that order, prefer C\n 
::tppeal in writing to the GO\·er nrnent, and the Go' ern­
ment shall pass such orders on the appeal as they 
may think fit. 
5. Power to prohibit or regulate certain acts.­
If, in the opinion oJ lhc Government, it is necessary 
fl1r the 1:>reservation of a private forest or private 
forests, they may, by notification in the Gazette,-
{a) prohibit or regulate the doing of any act 
likely to be detrimental to the preservation of such 
private forest or private forests ; 
(b) regulate the exercise of customary or 
prescripth e rights in such private forest or private 
forests. 
6. Applicability of Chapter VIII of Act 4 of 
1962.-The provisions of Chapter VIII of the Kerala 
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Forest Act, 1!l61 (4 of 1962), shall apply to offences 
punishable under this Act, subject to the following 
modifications, namely:-
(a) m section 52, the proviso to sub-section (2) --<>· 
shall be omitted~ 
(b) in section 54, after the words "the 
Magistrate shall", the words and figures "subject to 
the proYJsions of sectwn 10 of the Kerala Preservation 
of Pnvate Forests Act, 1972" shall be inserted; 
(c) in section 56, the words "shall, if it is the 
property of the Central or State Government or has 
been confiscated, b,e taken possession of by or under 
the authority of the Divisional Forest Officer; and in 
any other case it" shall be omitted ; 
(d) in section 57, for the words "the Divisional ~ 
Forest Officer" the words "the District Collector" 
shall be substituted ; 
(e) in section 61, for the words "a Forest 
Officer not below the rank of an Assistant Conservator 
of Forests holding charge of a Forest Division", the 
words ''the District Collector" shall be substituted ; 
(f) in section 62,-
(i) clause (a) shall be omtited ; 
(ii) m clause (c), the word "or" occurring at 
1he end shall be omitted; and 
(iii) clause (d) shall be omitted ; 
(g) section 69 shall be omitted. 
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7. Penalti('s.-Whoevcr contraYencs the proYi­
sions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) of section 
3 or anv of the lerms and conditions subject to which 
a permission has been granted under sub-section (3) 
of section 3 or any of the terms of a notification under 
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section 5 shall be punishable with imprisonment for 
a term which may extend to two years, or with fine 
which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with 
both. 
8. Offences by companies.-(!) Where an offence 
under this Act has been committed by a company, 
every person who, at the time the offence was com­
mitted, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the 
company for the conduct of its business, shall be 
deemed to be guilty of the offence and shail be 
liable to be proceeded against and pumshed 
accordingly : 
Provided that nothing contained in this sub­
section shall render any person liable to pumshment, 
if he proves that the offence was committed without 
his knowledge, or that he had exercised all due 
rhligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub­
sectwn (1), where any offence under this Act has 
been committed by a company and it is proved that 
the offence has been committed with the consent or 
conniYance of, or is attributable to any neglect on 
the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other 
officer of the company, such director, manager, 
secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty 
of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded 
against and punished accordingly. 
Explanation.-For the purposes of this section,-
(a) "company" means any body 
includes a firm, society or other 
indi"iduals ; and 
(b) "director",-
corporate and 
association of 
(i) in relation to a firm, means a partner m 
the firm, 
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(ii) in relation to a society or other associa­
tion of individuals, means the person who is entrusted, 
under the rules of the society or other association, 
with the management of the affairs of the society or 
other association, as the case may be . • .. 
9. Jurisdiction of Magistrates.-Notwithstanding 
anything contained in section 32 of the Code of 
Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Central Act 5 of 1898), it 
shall be lawful for any Magistrate of the First Class 
5pecially empowered by the Government in this 
behalf, to impose a sentence of fine exceeding two 
thousand rupees. 
10. Institution of prosecutions.-No prosecution 
shall be instituted against any person without the 
sanction of the District Collector. 
11. Bar of suits.-No order of the Government 
or the District Collector under this Act and no 
notification issued by the Government under section 
5 shall be liable to be questioned in any court of law. 
12. Indemnity.-~o suit, prosecution or other 
legal proceeding shall lie against the Government or 
any officer of the Gm·ernment for anything which is 
in good faith done or purported to haYe been done 
under this Act or any rule made thereunder. 
13. Certain alienations of private forests to be 
null and void.-Notwithstanding anything contained 
in any law for the time being in force, or in any 
contract or other document, or in any judgment, 
decree or order of any court, any sale, mortgage, 
lease or other alienation of a prh·ate forest or any 
portion of a private forest after the lOth day of May, 
1971 and before the commencement of this Act shall 
be null and void. 
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14. Power to make rules.-(1) The Government 
may, by notification in the Gazette, make rules for 
carrying out the purposes of this Act. 
(2) Without prejud1ce to the generality of the 
foregoing power, such rules may pro\'fide for-
(a} the classes or kinds of trees which may 
be permitted to be cut and the girth of such trees; 
(b) the terms and conditions subject to 
which permissions may be granted ; 
(c) the procedure to be followed by the 
D1strict Collector before granting permissions ; 
(d) the levy and collection of fees on every 
application for permission under sub-sectiou (3) of 
section 3; 
(e) any other matter which has to be, or may 
be, prescribed under this Act ; 
(3) Every rule made ·under this section shall 
be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the 
Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total 
period of fourteen days which may be comprised in 
one session or in two successive sesswns and if before 
lhe expiry of the session in which it is so la1d or the 
&ession immediately following, the Legislative 
Assembly makes any modificatwn in the rule or 
decides that the rule should not be made, the rule 
shall thereafter have effect only in such modified 
form or be of no effect, as the case may be ; so how­
ever that any such modification or annulment shall 
be without prejudice to the validity of anything 
previously done under that rule. 
15. Power to remove difficulties.-If any 
difficulty arises in giving effect to the prov1s10ns of 
tlus Act, the Government may, as occasion. may 
require, by order do anything not inconsistent with 
such provisions which appears to them necessary for 
the purpose of removing the difficulty. 
16. Repeal and savings.-(1) the Kerala 
Preservation of•Private Forests Ordinance, 1972 (7 of 
1 972), is hereby repealed. · 
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything 
done or any action taken under the said Ordinance 
shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the 
corresponding provision of this Act as if this Act had 
come into force on the 29Lh day of June, 1972. 
(3) Notwithstanding the proYisions of sub­
section (4) of section 1 of the Madras Preservation of 
Pri Yate Forests Act, 1949, the provisions of section 8 
o1 the Madras General Clauses Act, 1891, ~hall not 
apply or shall not be deemed ever to have applied 
on the expiry of the first-mentioned Act: 
Provided that any prosecution for the contraven­
tion of any of the provisions of the Madras 
Preservation of Private Forests Act. 1949, pending on 
the date of e.x:piry of that Act may be continued and 
disposed of as if that Act had not expired. 
THE KERALA LAND REFORMS (AMENDMENT) 
ACT, 1972 
Preamble. 
Sections 
(Act 17 of 1972) 
CONTENTS 
1. Short title and commencement. 
2. Amendment of section 2. 
3. Insertion of new section 72BB 
4. Amendment of section 72C. 
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