The central legal point established in the judgment is that encroachers of government land are not entitled to equity or public interest assignment, emphasizing the intended protection of landless people under the Land Assignment Act and Rules.

JUDGMENT :

The Wayanad district in Kerala is known for its tribal community. When we visit Wayanad, we can see them with innocent smiles on their faces in almost every nook and corner. About 20% of the population of Wayanad district are from tribal communities. The State Government is trying to give all sorts of help to the tribal community because of the peculiar nature of their life and also to uplift them along with the citizens of this country. But the majority of them want to follow their own traditional culture for which they want land and resources. But it is a fact that, even now several tribals are waiting to get a piece of land for agricultural purposes and to construct a dream house on their land in their own way. It is the duty of the state and all of us to see that the tribals are happy and a beautiful smile continues on their face forever. But here is a strange case where about 5.5358 hectares of government land is assigned to the 5th respondent ‘Kallodi St.George Forane Church’ for a meager amount of Rs.100/Acre, when hundreds of tribals are waiting to get land for their shelter. Whether this Court should interfere with the above assignment is the question to be decided in this case.

2. It is stated in the writ petition that the petitioners are social workers and belong to the landless tribal community in Wayanad District. It is the case of the petitioners that the Government assigned the Government land at a nominal price to the 5th respondent overlooking the six thousand applications of the landless tribal people for a residential plot. Despite Government initiatives and developmental projects, the existing socio-economic profile of the tribal communities is low compared to the mainstream population is the submission. The social exclusion and a high degree of deprivation are the major problems faced by the tribal community in Kerala is the submission. There took place starvation deaths of 32 tribals in July-August 2001, and subsequently 48-day agitation was launched by the Adivasi-Dalit Action Council in front of the Secretariat is the submission. The agitation ended on October 16th, 2001 when a seven-point agreement was reached with the government. The seven-point agreement of October 16th says that five acres of land would be given wherever possible. It is also agreed that a minimum of one acre which could go up to five acres depending on the availability of land would be given in other places. There were other assurances also in the agreement like the implementation of a five-year livelihood program on the land distributed until it becomes fully productive and the adivasi can sustain themselves, enactment of a fresh law to prevent alienation of these lands as had happened in the past, passing a cabinet resolution asking the union government to declare the adivasi areas of Kerala as scheduled areas and incorporating them under Schedule V of the Constitution, the government would abide by the Supreme Court decision on its appeal against the Kerala High Court order quashing the Tribal Land Amendment Bill passed by the state assembly in 1999, preparation of a master plan for tribal development with the participation of tribals and its implementation and also about 10,000 acres would be found and distributed in Wayanad district, which has the highest concentration of landless tribals. This agreement was followed by ‘Muthanga incident’ wherein the lives of 5 tribal people succumbed to police firing is the submission. There are various ongoing agitations in Wayanad District by the tribals and the petitioners are also part of such agitations is the submission.

3. It is submitted that the 5th respondent had illegally encroached 5.5358 hectares of land in Mananthavady Taluk of Wayanad District from 1962 onwards. It is submitted that the 5th respondent was making efforts to get Pattayam to this encroached property and they were continuing on lease in that property. The District Collector, pursuant to the application of t