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2023 Supreme(Online)(KER) 3935
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J
VISWASAMUDRA ENGINEERING PVT. LTD – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF KERALA – Respondent
WP(C) 2718/2023
P.SATHISAN, SRI.P.CHANDRASEKHAR, SRI.K.K.MOHAMED RAVUF, SMT.K.VIDYA, SHRI.SATHEESH V.T., SR.GP Amminikutty
Conversion of land prior to the enactment of land use laws allows for changes in official classifications without infringing upon statutory provisions.
Headnote:
Land - Property Classification - Kerala Land Utilization Order - Section 6 - The court directed that a property converted into dry land before 2008 should be removed from the data bank and reassessed without considering it as paddy land, illustrating the interpretative application of local land use statutes.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, owning certain lands, sought corrections in the data bank, claiming the property was converted from paddy to dry land before the enactment of Act 28 of 2008. The Local Level Monitoring Committee's ambiguous findings on land classification prompted the petitioner's application for changes in local records.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the property was indeed converted into dry land prior to the enactment of the relevant statute and directed that necessary corrections be made in the data bank and the basic tax register.
Issues: Whether the property in question was improperly classified as paddy land despite evidence of prior conversion into dry land, affecting the legal standing under the Kerala Land Utilization Order.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that merely being classified as 'agricultural fallow land' does not imply the land was originally paddy land, essential for determining the legality of land use under the statute.
Final Decision: The writ petition was disposed of with directives to correct land records.
JUDGMENT
Petitioner is the Director of a company by name, M/s. Aruna Promoters Pvt.Ltd. The said company is the owner of properties situated in Sy.38/4, 38/6, 39/2 and 39/3, of Cheranelloor Village having an extent of 2.10 Acres. Alleging that the aforesaid property was converted from a paddy land into a dry land prior to the coming into force of Act, 28 of 2008, petitioner approached this Court in W.P.(C)No.33677/2017, seeking directions to correct the entry in the data bank. By a common judgment dated
23.10.2017, this Court, observed as follows:
‘’In the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the writ petitions are disposed of permitting the petitioners to prefer applications in the prescribed form, wherever such applications are not filed, before the Local Level Monitoring Committees concerned for correction of the entries in the Data Bank in relation to the properties. It is also directed that if the petitioners prefer applications in the prescribed form as directed above along with copies of the judgment and the writ petition, the same shall be considered by the Local Level Monitoring Committees concerned, after obtaining reports from the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSRSEC) as to the position of the properties at the time of commencement of the Act. The petitioners shall pay the fees stipulated by the KSRSEC for issuing their report if directed so by the Conveners of the Local Level Monitoring Committees. Needless to say that in cases where reports have already been called for from the KSRSEC at the expense of the petitioners pursuant to the interim orders passed in the writ petitions, orders shall be passed on the strength of the said reports. The direction aforesaid shall be complied with, within three months from the date of receipt of the application. If the requests made by the petitioners are allowed, they are entitled to prefer applications invoking Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilization Order before the competent authority for permission to make use of the properties for other purposes, in cases where applications have not been filed by the petitioners for the said purpose, and in that event, the competent authority under the Kerala Land Utilization Order shall pass orders on those applications within one month from the date of production of the decision of the Local Level Monitoring Committee and the application under the Kerala Land Utilization Order , wherever applicable, along with a copy of the writ petition, in the light of the decision of this Court inPuthan Purakkal Joseph (supra), untrammelled by Circular No.46848/P1/2016 dated 22.12.2016 issued by the Government. If the requests of the petitioners under Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilization Order are granted, the petitioners shall be issued building permits or assigned building numbers, as the case may be, if they are otherwise entitled for the same, by the local authorities concerned. Needless to say that if the requests of the petitioners under Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilization Order are granted, they will also be entitled to move the authorities under the Kerala Land Tax Act for fresh assessment of the lands as garden lands and if such requests are made by the petitioners, the same shall also be considered by the said authorities, in the light ofKizhakkambalam Grama Panchayat v. Mariumma (2015(2) KLT 516), within one month from the date of their respective requests.’’
2. On the basis of the above direction, petitioner’s application, which was produced in the said writ petition as Ext.P2, was considered by the Local Level Monitoring Committee. By order dated 11.04.2018, the LLMC observed that as per the KSRSEC report, though the land is seen on inspection to be a converted land from 2005 and cannot be used for paddy cultivation, there is an ambiguity regarding the meaning of the term ‘agricultural fallow land’ used in the said report. Subsequent to the aforesaid decision of the LLMC, petitioner filed an application before the D
