Court Orders Village Officer to Accept Land Tax from Petitioners - 2024-06-12

Background

In a recent court judgment, the petitioners, who are the legal heirs of late Muhammed Kunhi and Safiya , sought a direction to the 4th respondent (the Village Officer) to accept land tax from them in respect of their property covered by Exhibits P1 to P4(a).

Arguments

The petitioners argued that they are the owners in possession of 8.90 Ares of land in re-survey no.67/11PT1 of Kalanad Village in Kasaragod District. They claimed that their parents had obtained the property as per Exhibit P2, and they had been paying land tax to the government ever since. However, due to an inadvertent omission, they could not pay the land tax for the year 2022, and the Village Officer refused to accept the tax payment.

The 4th respondent, in their statement, contended that the property of the petitioners falls under the classification of 'thottam' and that a total extent of 75 cents in survey no.67/11 has been detailed as excess land, which is why tax has not been collected in respect of the said property.

Court's Analysis and Reasoning

The court, after considering the factual situation and the declaration of law, found that the refusal of the 4th respondent to accept tax from the petitioners was incorrect and without any basis. The court relied on the judgments in Rajkumar S. and others v. Tahsildar, Devikulam and others, 2020 (3) KLT 403 and Sawarni (Smt.) v. Inderkaur (Smt.) and others, 1996 KHC 964, which established that every owner of a property, as long as the property remains under their ownership, is entitled to pay tax and exercise all rights of ownership.

Decision

The court directed the 4th respondent (the Village Officer) to collect the tax from the petitioners in respect of the property covered by Exhibits P1 to P4(a). The court also clarified that even if the tax is received as ordered, the respondents will be free to proceed further against the property as per the provisions of the Kerala Land Reforms Act or any other provision of law, if found necessary.