Kerala High Court
Sivankutty vs State Of Kerala
Author: A.K.Jayasankaran Nambiar
Bench: A.K.Jayasankaran Nambiar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.K.JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR
FRIDAY, THE 17TH DAY OF MARCH 2017/26TH PHALGUNA, 1938
WP(C).No. 9061 of 2016 (G)
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PETITIONER(S):
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SIVANKUTTY
S/O NARAYANA PILLAI, CHERUVALLILL CHAITHANYA (H),
MYLOM, KOTTARAKKARA, KOLLAM DIST
BY ADV.SMT.G.VIDYA
RESPONDENT(S):
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1. STATE OF KERALA
REPRESETNED BY THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001
2. REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER
REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICE, KOLLAM DISTRICT-691 001
3. VILLAGE OFFICER
KALAYAPURAM VILLAGE OFFICE, KALAYAPURAM,
KOTTARAKKARA TALUK, KOLLAM DISTRICT-691 580
4. MYLOM GRAMAPANCHAYATH
REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY, MYLOM, KOTTARAKKARA,
KOLLAM DISTRICT-691 506
Addl. 5. AGRICULTURAL OFFICER,
KRISHI BHAVAN, MYLOM, KOTTARAKKARA, KOLLAM DISTRICT.
Addl. 6. THE CONVENER,
LOCAL LEVEL MONITORING COMMITTEE,
MYLOM GRAMA PANCHAYATH, MYLOM,
KOTTARAKKARA.
ADDL. R5 IS IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER DATED 23.6.2016 IN I.A.NO.8037/16.
ADDL. R6 IS IMPLEADED AS PER ORDER DATED 2.2.2017 IN I.A.NO.1381/17.
R4 BY ADV.SRI.P.K.VIJAYAMOHANAN
R4 BY ADV.SRI.NISHIL.P.S.
R1-R3 BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SRI.RENIL ANTO
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
17-03-2017, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAYDELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
WP(C).No. 9061 of 2016 (G)
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APPENDIX
PETITIONER(S)' EXHIBITS
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EXT.P1: TRUE COPY OF THE PROPOSAL DT. 12/1/15
EXT.P2: TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION FOR PERMIT
EXT.P3: TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DT. 15/7/15
EXT.P4: TRUE COPY OF THE JUDMGNET IN WPC 33112/15, DT. 21/01/15
EXT.P5: TRUE COPY OF THE MAHASER
EXT.P6: TRUE COPY OF THE NOTICE DT. 1/3/16
EXT.P7: TRUE COPY OF THE REPLY DT. 1/3/16
EXT.P8: TRUE COPY OF THE CERIFICATE DT. 24/2/16
EXT.P9: TRUE COPY OF THE RECEIPT DT. 15/2/16
EXT.P10: TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DT. 3/3/16
EXT.P11: TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGE OF INFORMATION DATED
16.3.16.
EXT.P12: TRUE COPY OF THE OWNERSHIP CERTIFICATE DATED 5.1.15.
EXT.P13: TRUE COPY OF THE BUILDING PERMIT ISSUED BY THE 4TH
RESPONDENT DATED 30.7.14.
RESPONDENT(S)' EXHIBITS: NIL.
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//TRUE COPY//
P.S.TO JUDGE
A.K.JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR, J.
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W.P.(C).NO.9061 OF 2016 (G)
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Dated this the 17th day of March, 2017
J U D G M E N T
The petitioner, who is stated to be in ownership and possession of 16.54 cents of land in Re-survey.No.373/18 in Block No.13, Thandaper 4398 of Kalayapuram Village, Kottarakkara Taluk, has approached this Court, aggrieved by Ext.P10 order, whereby, an application for building permit was rejected on the ground that the property on which the building was proposed to be constructed was shown as 'Nilam' in the revenue records.
2. When the matter came up for admission, this Court, by an interim order dated 02.02.2017, directed the Agricultural Officer, who is the Convener of the Local Level Monitoring Committee [LLMC], to file a report after inspection of the property with regard to the lie and nature of the property, and specify whether it was included in the draft/notified data bank, and if so, the manner in which the property is described in the draft/notified data bank. A report dated 25.2.2017 has since been filed by the LLMC, a perusal of which, shows that the W.P.(C).No.9061/2016 2 land belonging to the petitioner was converted long prior to 2008, and therefore, the land is not a paddy land for the purposes of inclusion in the Land Data Bank that was prepared for the region. Taking note of the said report, I am of the view that the land in question cannot be included in the Land Data Bank, and hence, ought to be excluded from the Land Data Bank, that was prepared for the area in question. Accordingly, I dispose the writ petition,
(i) by declaring that the property of the petitioner situated in Re-survey No.373/18 in Block No.13, Thandaper 4398 of Kalayapuram Village, is not either paddy land or wetland, for the purposes of inclusion in the Land Data Bank prepared in accordance with the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and WetLand Act, 2008.
(ii) The additional 6th respondent is directed to exclude the said land of the petitioner from the Land Data Bank. If the data bank is at the draft stage, the land shall be excluded before finalising the data bank, and notifying the same. If, on the other hand, the data bank has already been finalised, and notified through publication in Gazette, then the additional 6th respondent shall issue a corrigendum notification showing the exclusion of the land from the data bank, and publish the said W.P.(C).No.9061/2016 3 corrigendum notification in the Gazette. In the meanwhile, the additional 6th respondent shall, after excluding the land from the data bank, issue a certificate to the petitioner within a week from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment, certifying that the land in question has been excluded from the data bank. The petitioner can utilise the said certificate for approaching the authorities under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order [hereinafter referred to as the 'KLU Order'] for getting permission to utilise the land for other purposes.
(iii) The 4th respondent Panchayat shall, on the petitioner producing the certificate issued by the LLMC, as also the order passed by the authorities under the KLU Order, consider Ext.P2 application submitted by the petitioner for building permit, afresh, in the light of the said certificate and order, and de hors the description of the property in the Basic Tax Register. The 4th respondent shall pass fresh orders, as directed, within a period of three weeks on the petitioner producing the order of the authorities under the KLU Order. To enable the 4th respondent to do so, I quash Ext.P10 order of the 4th respondent.
(iv) The petitioner shall, on receipt of the certificate from the LLMC, and the order permitting conversion under the KLU Order, produce copies of the same W.P.(C).No.9061/2016 4 before the Land Tax Authorities, for causing a fresh assessment and consequential change in classification of the land in the Basic Tax Register.
A.K.JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR JUDGE prp/18/3/17