- (1.) The question involved in these cases is whether some areas which are within the rubber plantation of the respondent companies fall within the provisions of the Kerala Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971.
(2.) According to Section 2 (f) (1) (i) of the Act any land to which the Madras Preservation of Private Forest Act, 1949 (for short "the MPPF Act") applies immediately before the appointed date i. e. 10/5/1971, would be regarded as a private forest. Section 1 of the MPPF Act, 1949 states that the said Act applies, inter alia, to the private forest in the districts of Malabar and South Kanara having a contiguous area exceeding 100 acres. An explanation which has been added to the said section provides that: "nothing in this clause shall be deemed to apply to any land which was brought under fugitive or other cultivation prior to 14/12/1949, by an owner or any person claiming under him. "
(3.) The contention on behalf of the appellant is that by virtue of the said explanation the rubber plantation is excluded from the operation of the 1949 Act and, therefore, it automatically gets excluded from the provisions of the Vesting Act, 1971.;