IMPORTANT POINT
The State cannot unilaterally cancel Pattas after decades without a fair hearing, especially when it accepted tax payments.

JUDGMENT :

(A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, J.)

These Writ Appeals filed by the writ petitioners in W.P. (C).Nos.6182 of 2012, 9243 of 2012 and 13360 of 2013, as well as by the Kerala State Electricity Board [KSEB] that was the respondent and requisitioning authority in the aforesaid writ petitions, impugn the common judgment dated 04.12.2015 of a learned Single Judge in the writ petitions. As the issue arising in all these appeals is the same, they are taken up together for consideration and disposed by this common judgment.

2. The writ petitioners are persons from whom properties were acquired by the State for the purposes of the Kuttiyar Diversion Project of the KSEB, the requisitioning authority. The acquired lands are those that were originally assigned to the writ petitioners or their predecessors-in-interest and were covered by pattas issued in respect thereof. More specifically, the lands belonging to the petitioners in W.P. (C).No.6182 of 2012 were covered by Patta No.428/1975 [2.46 acres in Sy.No.932 of Vagamon Village]; the lands belonging to the petitioner in W.P.(C).No.9243 of 2012 were covered by Patta No.435/1975 [89 cents in Sy.No.825 of Vagamon Village] and Patta No.4879/1962 [1.68 acres in Sy.No.825]; the lands belonging to the petitioners in W.P.(C).No.13360 of 2003 were covered by Patta No.95/1981 [2.25 acres in Sy.No.836 of Vagamon Village], Patta No.96/1981 [2.70 acres in Sy.No.836 of Vagamon Village] and Patta No.97/1981 [1.80 acres in Sy.No.836 of Vagamon Village].

3. The grievance of the writ petitioners was that while their lands had been taken possession of by the State/KSEB, they were not paid any compensation for the same despite directions from this Court in earlier rounds of litigation, to pass an award in respect of the acquisition of their lands and to disburse the compensation due to them. It was also pointed out in the writ petitions that when contempt petitions were filed against the State and the KSEB for not complying with the earlier directions of this Court, the said respondents fixed the land value at Rs.12,000/- per cent for dry land and Rs.10,000/- per cent for wet land [W.P.(C).No.6182 of 2012]; Rs.9000/- per cent for dry land and Rs.5,000/- per cent for wet land [W.P.(C).No.9243 of 2012]; and Rs.9000/- per cent for dry land [W.P.(C).No.13360 of 2013], but did not actually pay any compensation because they had, by then, received a report from the RDO which suggested that the Pattas held by them had not been issued after complying with the statutory formalities and that therefore they were bogus Pattas. The RDO also issued proceedings dated 14.02.2012, produced as Ext.P11 in W.P.(C).No.6182 of 2012, by which, it was decided to pay the petitioners only the value of improvements effected by them on their land. The Pattas issued in respect of their lands were cancelled. In the writ petitions, the order cancelling the Pattas was impugned and directions were sought for disbursement of compensation for the lands acquired from them.

4. The learned Single Judge, who considered the writ petitions, found that the cancellation of the Pattas, without affording the writ petitioners an opportunity of showing cause against such a proposal, was illegal. The order cancelling the Pattas was therefore set aside, and the writ petitions were disposed with the following directions:

“i) Petitioners in W.P.C.No.6182/2012 are entitled to land value at the rate of Rs.12,000/- per cent for dry land and Rs.10,000/- per cent for wet land.

ii) Petitioner in W.P.C.No.9243/2012 will be entitled for land value at the rate of Rs.9,000/- per cent for