STATE OF KERALA vs M/S.POPULAR ESTATES

The Supreme Court upheld the Kerala High Court's decision to set aside the Forest Tribunal's judgment, which had dismissed the respondents' claims over 1534.40 acres of land under the Kerala Private Forests (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1971. The Court reiterated that under Section 3 of the Act, all private forests vest in the State, but the respondents argued that their land was exempt from such vesting. The Court found that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the respondents' claims, leading to the dismissal of their appeal.