The Thandaper Register classification prevails over Settlement Register entries; property owners' rights are protected from arbitrary reclassification under outdated records.

JUDGMENT :

C.S. Dias, J.

The petitioner is the owner in possession of 34.700 cents of land, comprised in Survey No.946/1 in Kadakampally Village, Thiruvananthapuram Taluk, covered under Ext.P1 document and Exts. P2 to P4 possession certificates. In Exts.P2 to P4 certificates, the petitioner’s property has been classified as ‘land’. However, in Ext.P5 notified data bank, the petitioner’s property has been classified as ‘nilam’ and in Ext.P6 Thandaper Register, the petitioner’s property has been classified as ‘purayidam’. The petitioner has been remitting land tax based on Ext.P6 Thandaper Register. To the petitioner’s surprise, he found that his property has been classified as ‘nilam’ in the official digital records. Even though the petitioner repeatedly requested the respondents to change the classification of his land in the digital records, the same has not been done. In the information received under the Right to Information Act, the petitioner has learnt that the Basic Tax Register (‘BTR’ in short) is not available with the revenue authorities. Instead they are only maintaining a Settlement Register. Even though the petitioner had submitted an application for building permit, to construct a building in the said property, the 6^th respondent has directed the petitioner to obtain a No Objection Certificate from the Airport Authority of India and get the classification of the property changed from ‘nilam’ to ‘purayidam’ in the revenue records. Despite repeated efforts made by the petitioner, nothing has happened. The inaction of the respondents tantamount to an infringement of the petitioner’s right to property guaranteed under Article 300A of the Constitution of India.

2. In the statement filed by the 4^th respondent, it is contended that, as per the Thandaper Register, the petitioner is the holder of 14.03 Ares of land comprised in Survey No.946/1 in Kadakampally Village, Thiruvananthapuram Taluk. In the Thandaper Register, the petitioner’s property is noted as ‘purayidam’. But, the entry is erroneous. However, in the Settlement Register the property is rightly classified as ‘nilam’. In the possession certificate produced by the petitioner, there is no indication regarding the type of the land. It is only when a property is classified as ‘paddy land’ or ‘wetland’ as defined under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 ('Act' in short), will the property be included in the data bank. The land owners whose properties are not included in the data bank can avail the privilege of converting the land from ‘nilam’ to ‘purayidam’ by submitting an application in Form 6 under the Act. Resurvey has not been completed in Kadakampally Village. Therefore, the BTR is not available. In the absence of the BTR, the Settlement Register is to be relied on. Digitization of the records in the Kadakampally Village was done based on the settlement records. In the relis data, the property is categorized as ‘nilam’. The Village Officer has the competence to correct the mistake in the Settlement Register or BTR. Therefore, the writ petition may be dismissed.

3. In the statement filed by the 6^th respondent-Corporation, it is contended that the petitioner had submitted an application for building permit on 11.09.2024 through its K-Smart Portal, to construct a commercial building. On an inspection of the file, it was found that the property is classified as ‘nilam’ in the land records. The petitioner’s application for building permit is incomplete, as he has not produced the No Objection Certificates from the Airport Authority, the Pollution Control Board and the Department of Fire and Safety.

4. The petitioner has filed a reply affidavit refut