The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Land Board has the power to determine the question arising under S.85(1) proviso and emphasized the requirement of a bonafide belief in the person that the land is liable to be purchased by the cultivating tenant or kudikidappukaran.

1. A common question of some importance is raised is these cases This question is one which frequently arises in revision petitions under S.103 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and therefore it has been referred to a Division Bench by one of us sitting single. It has been contended by some of the parties to these petitions that the Taluk Land Board which has the duty of determining the land to be surrendered as excess land under S.85 (5) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 is obliged to accept the plea that land is held by a tenant who is entitled to purchase the land and as such, such land is liable to be excluded from the scope of ceiling and surrender provisions whenever such a plea is raised. It is their case that it is not open to the Land Board or the Taluk Land Board to assess the sustainability of this plea and consequently there is no discretion in these authorities to reject the plea for exclusion of such lands.

2. Chapter III of the Act concerns the scheme relating to ceiling limit of land and the surrender of excess land envisaged by the Act. S.81 of the Act provides for exempting certain lands from the provisions of Chapter III. The ceiling area of land to be held by a person is specified in S.82. S.83 of the Act prohibits owning or holding or possessing under a mortgage of lands in the aggregate in excess of the ceiling area with effect from the notified date. The date notified is 111970. S.85 (1) obliges any person owning or holding land in excess of the ceiling area notified under S.83 to surrender such land. There is a proviso to this section which excludes certain lands from being taken into account in calculating the excess land to be surrendered under S.85 (1). The said section with the proviso, leaving out the Explanation which may not be necessary for the purpose of this case, runs

"85. Surrender of excess land: (1) Where a person owns or holds land in excess of the ceiling area on the date notified under S.83, such excess land shall be surrendered as hereinafter provided:

Provided that where any person bona fide believes that the ownership or possession of any land owned or held by such person or, where such person is a member of a family, by the members of such family, is liable to be purchased by the cultivating tenant or kudikidappukaran or to be resumed by the land owner or the intermediary under the provisions of this Act, the extent of the land so liable to be purchased or to be resumed shall not be taken into account in calculating the extent of the land to be surrendered under this sub-section."

The obligation to file a statement before the Land Board by any person owning or holding land in excess of the ceiling area is imposed by sub-section (2) of S.85. Sub-section 3A imposes similar obligation to file statement to the Land Board in certain other cases. Sub-section (5) of S.85 provides for the decision by the Taluk Land Board on matters which they are called upon to decide for the purpose of the surrender provisions of the Act. It may be relevant to extract sub-section (5) of S.85 of the Act here:

"(5) On receipt of the statement under sub-section (2) or sub-section 3A the Land Board shall transfer the statement to such Taluk Land Boards as may be decided by the Land Board in accordance with such principles as may be prescribed and such Taluk Land Board shall

a. cause the particulars mentioned in the statement to be verified;

b. ascertain whether the person to whom the statement relates owns or holds any other lands; and

c. by order, determine the extent and identity of the land to be surrendered."

Sub-section (6) provides that in determining the identity of the land to be surrendered the choice indicated by the person who files the statement under subsection (2) or (3A) of S.85 shall be accepted by the Land Board subject to certain exceptions, one of them being that the Land Board has reason to believe that the person whose land is indicated to be s