LexThe KERALA RESTRICTION ON CUTTING AND DESTRUCTION OF VALUABLE TREES ACT, 1974
Kerala · state statute
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THE KERALA RESTRICTION ON CUTTING AND DESTRUCTION OF
V ALUABLE TREES ACT, 1974
(Act 7 of 1974)
CONTENTS
Preamble.
Sections:
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Authorised officers.
4. Restriction regarding cutting of valuable trees.
5. Restriction regarding destruction of valuable trees.
6. Revision.
7. Penalties.
8. Offences by companies.
9. Powers of authorised officer.
10. Powers of entry and inspection.
11. Institution of prosecutions.
12. Bar of suits.
13. Indemnity.
14. Power to make rules.
15. Power to remove difficulties.
16. Repeal and saving.
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ACT 7 OF 1974
THE KERALA RESTRICTION ON CUTTING AND DESTRUCTION
OF V ALUABLE TREES ACT, 1974*
[Repealed by Act 35 of 1986]1
An Act to restrict the cutting and destruction oj certain valuable trees in private lands in the
State of Kerala.
Preamble.— WHEREAS it is considered necessary to restrict the cutting and
destruction of certain valuable trees in private lands in the State of Kerala;
BE it enacted in the Twenty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1. Short title, extent and commencement .—(1) This Act may be called the Kerala
Restriction on Cutting and Destruction of Valuable Trees Act, 1974.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 22nd day of January, 1974.
2. Defnitions.—In this Act, unless the context other wise requires,—
(a) "authorised officer" means an an officer appointed under section 3;
(b) "owner", in relation to any land, includes a mortgagee, lessee or other
person having right to possession and enjoyment of that land;
(c) "plantation” means any land used principally for the cultivation of tea,
coffee, cocoa, rubber, cardamom or cinnamon and includes lands interspersed within the
boundaries of the area principally cultivated with such crops;
(d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(e) “valuable tree" means sandalwood tree, rosewood tree or teak tree.
3. Authorised officers.—The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint
such officers as they think fit to be authorised officers for the purposes of this Act and may
assign to them such local limits as they think fit.
4. Restriction regarding cutting of valuable trees.—(1) No owner of any land
(including a plantation), and no person claiming under him or any other person, shall, without
the previous permission of the authorised officer, cut any sandalwood tree or rosewood tree
from that land.
(2) No owner of any plantation, and no person claiming under him, or any other
* Received the assent of the Governor on the 12th day of March, 1974 and published in the Gazette
Extraordinary No. 277 dated 12th March, 1974.
1 Repealed by the Kerala Preservation of Trees Act, 1986 (35 of 1986).
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person, shall, without the previous permission of the authorised officer, cut any teak tree from
that plantation.
5. Restriction regarding destruction of valuable trees .—(1) No person shall, without
the previous permission of the authorised officer, destroy any sandalwood tree or rosewood
tree or plant of any such tree or do any act which diminishes the value of any such tree or
plant.
(2) No person shall, without the previous permission of the authorised officer,
destroy any teak tree or plant of such tree standing in a plantation or do any act which
diminishes the value of any such tree or plant.
6. Revision .—(1) The Government may, either suo motu or on application by any
person aggrieved, call for and examine the record of any order passed by the authorised
officer under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 4 or under sub-section (1) or sub-
section (2) of section 5, for the purpose of satisfying themselves as to the legality, propriety
or regularity of such order and pass such order thereon as they think fit.
(2) The Government shall not of their own motion revise any order under sub-
section (1) if that order has been passed more than three months previously.
(3) An application under sub-section (1) by an aggrieved person shall be made
within a period of two months from the date on which the order in question was
communicated to him:
Provided that the Government may admit an application made after the expiry of the
said period of two months if they are satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not
making the application within that period.
(4) An order prejudicial to a person shall not be passed under sub-section (1)
unless that person has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against such
order.
Explanation.—An order declining to interfere shall, for the purposes of this sub-
section be deemed to be an order prejudicial to a person.
7. Penalties.—Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section
(2) of section 4 or sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 5 or any of the terms and
conditions subject to which a permission has been granted under any of the said provisions,
shall be punishable—
(a) in the case of a first offence, with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to six months, or with fine which may extent to five hundred rupees, or with both; and
(b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a
term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to six months and with
fine which shall not be less than one thousand rupees but which may extend to five thousand
rupees.
8. Offences by companies.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed
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by a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed 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 shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall render any person liable to punishment
if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised
all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (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 connivance 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 corporate and includes a firm, society or other
association of individuals; and
(b) "director"-
(i) in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm;
(ii) in relation to a society or other association 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. Powers of authorised officer.—The authorised officer shall for the purpose of
performing his functions under this Act, have all the powers of a civil court while trying a
suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908), in respect of the
following matters, namely:—
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on
oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; and
(c) receiving evidence on affidavit.
10. Powers of entry and inspection.—The authorised officer or any other officer
generally or specially authorised by the Government in this behalf may, with such assistance
(if any), being persons in the service of the Government, as he thinks fit, at all reasonable
times enter upon any land (including a plantation) for the purpose of ascertaining whether
any of the provisions of this Act or any of the terms and conditions subject to which any
permission has been granted under this Act has been contravened.
11. Institution of prosecutions.—No prosecution shall be instituted against any person
without the sanction of the authorised officer.
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12. Bar of suits.—No order of the Government or the authorised officer under this Act
shall be liable to be questioned in any court of law.
13. Indemnity.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the
Government or the authorised officer or any other person for anything which is in good faith
done or purported to have been done under this Act or any rule made thereunder.
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) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power,
such rules may provide for—
(a) the girth of trees which may be permitted to be cut;
(b) the terms and conditions subject to which permissions may be granted;
(c) the procedure to be followed by the authorised officer before granting
permission;
(d) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.
(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 sessions and if before the
expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the
Legislative Assembly makes any modification 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 however 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
provisions of this 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 saving .—(1) The Kerala Restriction on Cutting and Destruction of
V aluable Trees Ordinance, 1974 (1 of 1974), 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 this Act.
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