In Brief
Popular Estates owned 1534.40 acres acquired in 1963. When the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971 came into force, the state claimed all land as private forest vesting in it. Popular Estates contested, claiming the land was cultivated as plantation (rubber, coffee, cardamom) and thus exempt from vesting. The High Court examined Commissioner reports, title deeds, balance sheets, and income tax returns, concluding only 100 hectares (plus 155.90 acres) was forest land; the remaining 1127.50 acres were plantation. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's judgment, holding that the Land Board's determination under the Land Reforms Act was valuable evidence and must be given due weight; where two plausible views exist from the record, the Court will not interfere under Article 136.
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