State Of Kerala vs Sreemolam Club & Library on 3 December, 2025

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Kerala High Court

State Of Kerala vs Sreemolam Club & Library on 3 December, 2025

The respondents in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015 are the appellants in this writ appeal, which is one filed invoking the provisions under Section 5(i) of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958, challenging the judgment dated 29.10.2015 of the learned Single Judge in that writ petition, which was one filed by the respondent herein-petitioner, namely, Sreemoolam Club and Library, Devikulam, seeking the following reliefs;

"(i) To call for the records relating to Exhibits P1 to P24 and to issue a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate Writ, direction or order, quashing or setting aside Exhibit P17 order of the 2nd respondent refusing to grant NOC for renovation of Sreemoolam Club and Library, Munnar being arbitrary, illegal, unsustainable, unjustifiable and violation of the provisions of Kannan Devan Hills (resumption of lands) Act, 1971, and other relevant laws pertaining to the assignment of land and transfer of Registry Rules.

(ii) To issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ Direction or order declaring that the petitioner is not duty bound to obtain separate NOC from the District Collector for Construction/Renovation of the Library Building in addition to the statutory permissions required from the local authorities and if in any case this Honourable Court is the opinion that such NOC is required, issue direction to grant the same, forth with.

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(iii)To issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ Direction or order declaring that the property in the name of Sreemoolam Club and Library is in the absolute ownership and possession of the Club and the provisions of Kannan Devan Hills (Resumption of lands) Act 1971 so far as vesting the same to the Government is not applicable in the case of the Petitioner.

(iv)To issue an interim order directing the 2nd respondent to issue/grant NOC for construction/renovation of the Sreemoolam Club and Library, Munnar forthwith by keeping abeyance Exhibit P17 order for the time being, pending disposal of the Writ Petition (Civil)."

2. The issue raised in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015 was in respect of the reconstruction of the building of Sreemoolam Club and Library at Devikulam, situated in 50 cents of land comprised in Sy.No.20/2 of Kannan Devan Hills Village (KDH Village), in which there is an existing building having an extent of 2000 sq.ft. The document marked as Ext.P1 is a copy of the relevant extract of the Travancore Directory of 1940; Ext.P2 is a copy of certificate of affiliation dated 21.06.1997 issued by the Kerala State Library Council; Ext.P3 is a copy of the tax receipt dated 15.10.1991 in respect of the property in Thandapper Account No.2 of KDH Village; Ext.P4 is the relevant extract of Thandapper Account No.1 of KDH Village; Ext.P5 is a copy of certificate dated 20.01.2011 issued by the Deputy Tahsildar, KDH Village; Ext.P6 is a copy of W.A.No.97 of 2017 5 2025:KER:94764 the tax receipt dated 17.10.2012 in respect of Thandapper Account No.1 of KDH Village; Ext.P7 is a copy of the possession certificate 23.03.2012 issued by the Deputy Tahsildar, KDH Village.

3. The respondent-petitioner Club approached the 4th respondent Tahsildar, Devikulam, by submitting Ext.P8 application dated 15.11.2012, seeking a No Objection Certificate for constructing a new building in the place of the existing building of Sreemoolam Club and Library, in the land having an extent of 50 cents in Sy.No.20/2 of KDH Village. By Ext.P9 letter dated 04.12.2012, a report was called for on the application made by the petitioner for NOC, which was submitted vide Ext.P10 report dated 19.12.2012. The said report was followed by Ext.P11 letter dated 28.12.2012 of the Additional Tahsildar, addressed to the Deputy Tahsildar, wherein it is stated that if the construction is for a public purpose, an affidavit affirming that the building will not be used for any commercial purpose shall be executed before a Notary Public and forwarded to that office. Pursuant to Ext.P11 letter, Ext.P12 affidavit dated 20.02.2013 was submitted. The Additional Tahsildar submitted Ext.P13 report dated 12.03.2013, before the District Collector, Idukki, which was forwarded to the W.A.No.97 of 2017 6 2025:KER:94764 Revenue Divisional Officer, Devikulam, for appropriate recommendation. The Revenue Divisional Officer submitted Ext.P15 report dated 08.01.2014. By Ext.P16 judgment dated 27.06.2014 in W.P.(C)No.14673 of 2014, the District Collector was directed to pass appropriate orders on Ext.P8 application made by the petitioner for NOC. Pursuant to the direction contained in that judgment, the District Collector passed Ext.P17 order dated 11.02.2015, whereby Ext.P8 application made by the petitioner for NOC stands rejected, for the reason stated therein. The relevant portion of Ext.P17 order reads thus;

"1. The petitioner has no valid title over the land claimed to be in their possession. The land in question forms part of Cutcherry Settlement, that is, land set apart for Government purposes. Possession of Government land without any valid documents of title amounts to trespassing.

2. The land in question is exempted from vesting under clause (d) of sub section (2) of section 3 of the Kannan Devan Hills (Resumption of Lands) Act 1971, being land belonging to State Government. Even if the petitioner claims possession of land prior to 1971, such possessory rights are extinguished with the enactment of 1971 Act, as held by the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala in W.P.(C)No. 24614 of 2006.

3. No objection Certificate cannot be issued for construction of a building in a land in claimed possession of the W.A.No.97 of 2017 7 2025:KER:94764 petitioner, held without any valid documents proving title over the land. In the circumstances, application for grant of No-objection Certificate is hereby rejected"

Along with the writ petition, the petitioner has placed on record various other documents, which are marked as Exts.P18 to P24.

4. On 29.10.2015, when W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015 came up for consideration, the learned Single Judge disposed of the same by the impugned judgment. The judgment of the learned Single Judge reads thus;

"The petitioner is in possession of 50 cents of land in survey No 20/2 of Kannan Devan Hills Village in Devikulam Taluk, Idukki District. The petitioner claims to be a club. According to the petitioner, the club is in operation for the last more than hundred years. The petitioner was put into possession of the property by the Travancore Kingdom. The petitioner approached the District Collector, Idukki for renovation of the existing building. The District Collector, after adverting to the facts and situation ordered as follows:

"The petitioner has no valid title over the land claimed to be in their possession. The land in question forms part of Cutcherry Settlement, that is, land set apart for Government purposes. Possession of Government land without any valid documents of title amounts to trespassing.

2. The land in question is exempted from vesling under clause (d) of sub section (2) of section 3 of the Kannan Devan Hills (Resumption of Lands) Act 1971, being land belonging to the State Government. Even if the petitioner W.A.No.97 of 2017 8 2025:KER:94764 claims possession of land prior to 1971 such possessory rights are extinguished with the enactment of 1971 Act, as held by the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala in W.P.(C)No. 24614 of 2006.

3. No-objection Certificate cannot be issued for construction of a building in a land in claimed possession of the petitioner, held without any valid documents proving title over the land. In these circumstances, application for grant of No-objection Certificate is hereby rejected."

2. It is seen from the records that transfer of registry is effected in favour of the petitioner. The petitioner is paying basic tax and possession certificate has also been issued. This Court is of the view that considering the area in question, it is appropriate that title be perfected by an order of the Government. The petitioner is a club established in the year 1090 ME. The fact is that the petitioner is in possession of the building for the past more than hundred years. As seen from Exhibit P2 certificate of affiliation of the Kerala State Library Council, the activities of the club is of a public nature.

3. This Court is of the view that the petitioner shall approach the first respondent and an appropriate decision shall be taken by the 1 respondent for assigning the land to the petitioner after considering the nature of the land and the nature of the activities undertaken by the petitioner. Once the land is assigned to the petitioner, the District Collector shall give necessary no-objection certificate to the petitioner. Exhibit P17 order of the District Collector will be subject to the decision of the Government.

The writ petition is disposed of as above. No costs."

5. On 28.11.2024, when this writ appeal came up for W.A.No.97 of 2017 9 2025:KER:94764 consideration along with C.M.Appl.No.1 of 2017, notice was ordered to the respondent-petitioner, returnable by 03.02.2025. By the order dated 18.03.2025 of the Division Bench headed by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice, Registry was directed to place the matter on the administrative side for appropriate orders.

6. By the order dated 26.05.2025 of the Hon'ble the Chief Justice, on the administrative side, this writ appeal was directed to be listed before this Bench, dealing with matters relating to land in Munnar Region.

7. In C.M.Appl.No.1 of 2017, seeking an order to condone the filing delay of 388 days, the respondent-petitioner has filed a counter affidavit dated 13.03.2025, opposing the condonation of delay. By a detailed order dated 26.06.2025, this Court allowed C.M.Appl.No.1 of 2017. Paragraph 6 to 11 of that order read thus;

"6. The impugned judgment is one dated 29.10.2015. An application for certified copy was made on 03.11.2015 and the copy was ready on 06.11.2015. The date notified for appearance was 23.11.2015. However, a certified copy of the judgment was collected by the office of the learned Advocate General only 23.12.2015. Thereafter, the writ appeal was filed before this Court only on 21.12.2016 and there is a delay of 388 days in filing the writ appeal.

7. Having considered the submissions made by the learned Special Government Pleader for the appellants and the W.A.No.97 of 2017 10 2025:KER:94764 learned counsel for the respondent, with reference to the averments in the affidavit filed in support of this C.M.Application and that contained in the counter affidavit filed by the respondent, we notice that the writ petition filed on 04.09.2015 was disposed of on 29.10.2015, in the admission stage itself, without a counter affidavit being filed by the State and the official respondents. The land in question is having an extent of 50 cents in Survey No.20/2 of Kannan Devan Hills Village (KDH Village) in Devikulam Taluk in Idukki District. The writ petition was filed seeking various reliefs, including a writ of certiorari to quash Ext.P17 order dated 11.02.2015 of the District Collector, Idukki (the 2nd appellant herein), whereby the request made by the writ petitioner for grant of no objection certificate for renovation of the building of Sreemoolam Club situated in the aforesaid property stands rejected for the reasons stated therein. Without interfering with Ext.P17 order of the District Collector, the learned Single Judge disposed of the writ petition by directing the writ petitioner to approach the 1st appellant State for assignment of the land in question and the State is directed to take an appropriate decision on that request, after considering the nature of land and the nature of activities undertaken by the writ petitioner. In the impugned judgment, the learned Single Judge made it clear that once the land is assigned to the writ petitioner the District Collector shall give necessary no objection certificate and that Ext.P17 order of the District Collector will be subject to the decision to be taken by the State.

8. We notice the pendency of W.P.(C)No.1801 of 2010 and W.A.No.97 of 2017 11 2025:KER:94764 connected matters before this Special Bench dealing with matters related to land in Munnar Region. In W.P.(C)No.34095 of 2007 and W.P.(C)No.1801 of 2010, a Division Bench of this Court passed an order dated 21.01.2010, after recording the submission made by the learned Additional Advocate General, on behalf of the State of Kerala, that no construction could be carried out in Munnar without No Objection Certificate from the Revenue Department and without permission of the Grama Panchayat.

9. This writ appeal, which was listed before another Division Bench headed by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice, is listed before this Special Bench dealing with matters related to Munnar Region, based on the direction of the Hon'ble the Chief Justice, on the administrative side, dated 26.05.2025.

10. After taking note of various orders passed by the Special Bench in W.P.(C)No.1801 of 2010 and connected matters, and also the submissions made at the Bar, we find that the appellants have made out sufficient cause for condonation of delay of 388 days in filing the writ appeal.

11. In the result, this C.M.Application is allowed as prayed for."

8. On 04.07.2025, this writ appeal was admitted on file. The respondent-petitioner entered appearance through the learned counsel. By the order dated 04.07.2025, this Court granted an interim stay of operation of the judgment dated 29.10.2015 of the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015, for a period of two months. The said interim stay was W.A.No.97 of 2017 12 2025:KER:94764 thereafter extended on 21.08.2025 and 15.10.2025.

9. The respondent-petitioner has filed a counter affidavit dated 11.08.2025 in this writ appeal, producing therewith Annexures R1(a) to R1(c) documents.

10. Heard the learned Special Government Pleader for the appellants-respondents and the learned counsel for the respondent-petitioner.

11. The learned Special Government Pleader would submit that the issuance of NOC for construction in the Munnar region is governed by the orders issued by the Division Bench of this Court on 21.01.2010 in W.P.(C)Nos.34095 of 2007 and 1801 of 2010, after recording the submission made by the learned Additional Advocate General, on behalf of the State, and also the subsequent orders passed by the Division Bench dealing with land matters in Munnar region. While disposing the writ petition, the learned Single Judge has gone beyond the scope of the reliefs sought for in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015 and the learned Single Judge has also made certain observations in the judgment on the claimed title of the petitioner over the land in question.

12. The learned counsel for the respondent-petitioner would fairly submit that the directions issued by the learned W.A.No.97 of 2017 13 2025:KER:94764 Single Judge regarding the assignment of the land in question and the observations contained in the impugned judgment are beyond the scope of the reliefs sought for in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015. The learned counsel would point out various documents produced along with the writ petition to show that the petitioner club is in possession of the land in question since 1915.

13. The learned Special Government Pleader would address arguments pointing out the provisions under the Kerala Land Assignment Rules, 1964, made under Section 7 of the Kerala Government Land Assignment Act, 1960, as well as the provisions under the Kannan Devan Hills (Preservation and Assignment of Vested Lands) Rules, 1977, made under Section 10 of the Kannan Devan Hills (Resumption of Lands) Act, 1971. Though the learned Special Government Pleader and the learned counsel for the respondent-petitioner club address arguments on the above legal aspect, we do not propose to consider the same in this writ appeal, since it is not in dispute that the directions issued by the learned Single Judge in the impugned judgment dated 29.10.2015 regarding the assignment of the land in question and the observations contained therein are beyond the scope of the reliefs sought for in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015. W.A.No.97 of 2017 14

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14. In the above circumstances, this writ appeal is allowed by setting aside the impugned judgment dated 29.10.2015 of the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015, since the directions issued by the learned Single Judge regarding the assignment of the land in question and the observations contained therein are beyond the scope of the reliefs sought for in that writ petition.

Registry to list the writ petition before the learned Single Judge as per roster, for consideration of the matter afresh. We make it clear that the observations, if any, contained in this judgment touching the merits of the matter in W.P.(C)No.27065 of 2015 are made for the limited purpose of disposal of this writ appeal. The legal and factual contentions raised by both sides are left open to be raised before the learned Single Judge, at the appropriate stage.

Sd/-

ANIL K. NARENDRAN, JUDGE Sd/-

MURALEE KRISHNA S., JUDGE MSA W.A.No.97 of 2017 15 2025:KER:94764 APPENDIX OF WA NO. 97 OF 2017 RESPONDENT ANNEXURES Annexure R1(a) A true copy of Bye Laws of the respondent dated 28th of May 1995 Annexure R1(b) A true copy of the amended Grantha Sala Niyamavali of the 1st Respondent Annexure R1(c) A true copy of the Judgment rendered by a Division Bench of this Court in Writ Appeal No. 5738 of 2009 ( S) dated 6th of January 2021 (in Public Interest Protection Association \'s. State of Kerala and others)

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