The unconditional relinquishment of land takes effect without the need for formal acceptance, unless specifically contested.

J U D G M E N T

The issue involved in this writ petition is the effect of the relinquishment of landed property in terms of the Kerala Land Relinquishment Act , 1958 (for short, '1958 Act'), in a scenario where an Order in terms of Section 4 (5) of the said Act, whether accepting or rejecting the application for relinquishment, has not been made. The factual premise is as follows:-

The 1^st petitioner claims title to a total extent of 1.81 Ares of land in Poonithura Village. The 2^nd petitioner claims title to 43 Sq. Mts. of land in the same village. An extent of 0.21 Ares was acquired by the Government in terms of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act , 2013 (for short, '2013 Act') for the purpose of widening the road from JLN Stadium to Palarivattom Junction under Phase-II of the Kochi Metro Rail Project. Compensation was granted to the petitioners in respect of that extent, as per law and there is no dispute in respect of the said extent of 0.21 Ares.

The point of controversy centers around 43 Sq.Mts. made mention of above, which, according to the petitioners, is being acquired, without recourse to the provisions of 2013 Act and without paying any compensation to the petitioners. Whereas, the respondents would contend that the said extent has already been surrendered by the petitioners in terms of the above-referred 1958 Act. Over a land which has been surrendered unconditionally 18 years back, the petitioners cannot lay any claim, whatsoever, is the contention of the Government.

2. The specific issue which surfaces from the arguments advanced by both sides is whether, in the absence of an order to be passed in terms of Section 4 (5) of the 1958 Act, either accepting or rejecting the relinquishment of the land, can the relinquishment take effect?

3. In support of the act of relinquishment, the 3^rd respondent had produced Annexure R3(d), which is an application in From No.A of the Kerala Land Relinquishment Rules, 1958 (for short, 1958 Rules). The applicants therein are 1^st petitioner and predecessor of the 2^nd petitioner (who is her son). The date of application is 10.08.2005. The extent is 43.0 Sq.Mts. The purpose is stated to be the widening of Kaloor-Palarivatom road. In the declaration in Form B, which accompanies Form A, the statement is to the effect that “we do hereby relinquish and surrender unconditionally to the Government all my rights over the property mentioned in the above mahazar.” It could thus be seen that the surrender in question is unconditional of all the rights of the declarants over the subject property having an extent of 43 Sq.Ms. Section 4 of the 1958 Act deals with the procedure to be followed when lands are relinquished. The registered holder will have to make an application in the prescribed form to the Revenue Divisional Officer. An enquiry is contemplated under (2) of the 1958 Act by the R.D.O., as to whether the applicant is competent to relinquish. The sub section also contemplates notice to persons who are interested in the land. Such interested persons can file objection under (4) of the 1958 Act. The important provision which has been pressed into service for the purpose of this case is (5) of the 1958 Act, which enjoins the R.D.O. to pass an order, either accepting or rejecting the application for relinquishment. The grounds for rejection are contemplated in (6) of the 1958 Act. Now, (C) of the 1958 Act stipulates the vesting of the land in the Government, which is to take place only on the acceptance of an application for relinquishment. The vesting contemplated is one in consequence of an Order passed by the R.D.O. under and upon such Order being passed, the land, together with the