Mandatory government permission is required for holding and transferring land in excess of ceiling limits under the Land Ceiling Act, with unauthorized sales deemed invalid.

JUDGEMENT :

S.M. SUBRAMANIAM, J.

1. The unsuccessful writ petitioner before the writ Court is the appellant in the Writ Appeal No.1821 of 2011. The appellant instituted another W.P.No.15230 of 2002, challenging the Government Order issued in G.O.Ms.No.595 Revenue, dated 08.12.1998, and the Letter (Permanent) No.497 Revenue (L.Ref II) dated 12.11.2001 passed by the Government of Tamil Nadu and to direct the Government to grant permission to hold the lands as per the applications made by the petitioner under Section 37-A of the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act 1961, (herein after referred as “Land Ceiling Act”). Since the issues raised in the writ petition and writ appeal are one and the same, both the cases are tagged together and the present common order has been passed.

2. The petitioner is NEPC India Ltd. The petitioner company filed a Special Revision Petition in SRP.No.4 of 2002, before the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms Special Appellate Tribunal, Chennai, under Section 83 of the Land Ceiling Act, challenging the order dated 12.11.2001, passed by the Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, in G.O.Ms.No.497. Consequent to the abolition of the Land Reforms Appellate Tribunal, the matter stood transferred to this High Court and converted as a Writ Petition and notices were ordered to the parties.

3. The petitioner states that their company was in possession of lands in excess of the Land Ceiling Act. The company was owning 2,248.20 acres of land in Coimbatore and Erode Districts. By way of sale, they had transferred substantial lands in favour of other companies. They filed applications prior to sale and after sale under Section 37-A of the Land Ceiling Act to the Government, seeking exemption from the Land Ceiling Act.

4. The Government held that even during the pendency of the exemption application, filed under Section 37-A of the Land Ceiling Act, the petitioner had sold the properties and their actions were found illegal and in violation of the Land Ceiling Act. Accordingly, the exemption applications were rejected. The Government held that under Section 7 of the Land Ceiling Act, the petitioner had contravened the provisions of the Land Ceiling Act. Thus, further action was proposed to be initiated under Section 20 of the Land Ceiling Act. The said order of rejection, issued in G.O.D.No.595, Revenue (Land Reforms) dated 08.12.1998, is under challenge in W.P.No.15230 of 2002. Pertinently, the writ petition itself was instituted after a lapse of about four (4) years from passing of the rejection order. The writ petitioner continued to send representations to the then Minister for Revenue and requested to reconsider their earlier decision. Several such representations were submitted to the Hon'ble Minister for Energy and to the Government, repeatedly.

5. The Government by letter dated 12.11.2001, in G.O.Ms.No.497 Revenue, considered all the representations sent and held that there was no new ground adduced for grant of exemption and confirmed the original order of rejection passed in G.O.D.No.595 dated 08.12.1998. The Government opined that the land covered by the Land Ceiling Act cannot be allowed to be sold. Consequently, the request of the petitioner was reje