In Brief
The State of Kerala appealed against a High Court judgment that allowed private landowners' claim for exemption of their land from vesting under the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971. The High Court found that the respondents had acquired the land before the appointed date (10 May 1971) and used it for personal cultivation, satisfying the statutory conditions for exemption. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the High Court's findings—based on a commissioner's on-the-spot inspection report and proper evidence appreciation—were free from perversity or illegality and correctly applied the law.
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