Kerala High Court
K. V. Shabique,Represented By His Power ... vs The Revenue Divisional Officer, ... on 6 August, 2025
Author: C.S.Dias
Bench: C.S.Dias
WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024
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2025:KER:58892
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 6TH DAY OF AUGUST 2025 / 15TH SRAVANA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024
PETITIONER/S:
K. V. SHABIQUE,REPRESENTED BY HIS POWER OF ATTORNEY
HOLDER, K.V. ABOO HAJI
AGED 36 YEARS
S/O. K.V. ABOO HAJI, RESIDING AT KALATHINGAL PURAYIL
HOUSE, P.O. MANIPURAM, VIA KODUVALLY, KOZHIKODE,
REPRESENTED BY HIS POWER OF ATTORNEY HOLDER, K.V. ABOO
HAJI, AGED 72 YEARS, S/O ABDULLA, RESIDING AT
KALATHINGAL PURAYIL HOUSE,P.O. MANIPURAM, VIA
KODUVALLY, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673572
BY ADVS.
SHRI.V.V.SURENDRAN
SRI.P.A.HARISH
SMT.DONA PAUL
RESPONDENT/S:
1 THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER, KOZHIKODE,
OFFICE OF THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER, COLLECTORATE,
PO. CIVIL STATION, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673020
2 THE VILLAGE OFFICER, KODUVALLY VILLAGE,
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE OFFICER, PO. KODUVALLY KOZHIKODE,
PIN - 673572
3 THE AGRICULTURAL OFFICER,
OFFICE OF THE AGRICULTURAL OFFICER,
KODUVALLY,KRISHIBHAVAN, KODUVALLY, KOZHIKODE, PIN -
673572
4 THE SECRETARY, KODUVALLY MUNICIPALITY,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, KODUVALLY MUNICIPALITY, P.O.
WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024
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2025:KER:58892
KODUVALLY, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673572
5 THE KODUVALLY MUNICIPALITY,
REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,MUNICIPALITY BUILDING,
KODUVALLY KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673572
OTHER PRESENT:
SR,GP.SMT.PREETHA K.K., SC-SRI.MUHAMMED SHAFI M
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
06.08.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024
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C.S.DIAS, J.
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WP(C) No.28265 OF 2024
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Dated this the 6th day of August, 2025
JUDGMENT
The petitioner is the owner in possession of 4.047 Ares of land comprised in Re-Survey No.35/2 in Koduvally Village, Kozhikode Taluk, covered under Ext.P2 land tax receipt. The property is unsuitable for paddy cultivation. Nevertheless, the respondents have erroneously classified the property as 'paddy land' and included it in the data bank maintained under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, and the Rules framed thereunder ('Act' and 'Rules', for brevity). To exclude the property from the data bank, the petitioner had submitted a Form 5 application under Rule 4(4d) of the Rules. However, by Ext.P8 order, the authorised officer has summarily rejected the application without conducting a personal inspection. In fact based on the petitioner's application, Ext.P6 report was received from the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre. But, the said report was not considered by the authorised officer WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024 4 2025:KER:58892 while passing Ext.P8 order. Ext.P8 order is devoid of any independent finding regarding the nature and character of the land as it existed on 12.08.2008 -- the date the Act came into force. The impugned order, therefore, is arbitrary and unsustainable in law and liable to be quashed.
2. I have heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader.
3. The petitioner's principal contention is that the applied property is not a cultivable paddy field but is a converted plot. Nonetheless, the property has been incorrectly included in the data bank. Despite filing the Form 5 application, the authorised officer has rejected the same without proper consideration or application of mind.
4. It is now well-settled by a catena of judgments of this Court -- including the decisions in Muraleedharan Nair R v. Revenue Divisional Officer [2023 (4) KHC 524], Sudheesh U v. The Revenue Divisional Officer, Palakkad [2023 (2) KLT 386], and Joy K.K. v. The Revenue Divisional Officer/Sub Collector, Ernakulam [2021 (1) KLT 433] -- that the authorised officer is obliged to assess the nature, lie and character of the land and WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024 5 2025:KER:58892 its suitability for paddy cultivation as on 12.08.2008, which are the decisive criteria to determine whether the property is to be excluded from the data bank.
5. A reading of Ext.P8 order reveals that the authorised officer has failed to comply with the statutory requirements. There is no indication in the order that the authorised officer has personally inspected the property or adverted to Ext.P6 KSREC report. Instead, the authorised officer has merely acted upon the reports of the Agricultural Officer and Village Officer without rendering any independent finding regarding the nature and character of the land as on the relevant date. There is also no finding whether the exclusion of the property would prejudicially affect the surrounding paddy fields. In light of the above findings, I hold that the impugned order was passed in contravention of the statutory mandate and the law laid down by this Court. Thus, the impugned order is vitiated due to errors of law and non-application of mind, and is liable to be quashed. Consequently, the authorised officer is to be directed to reconsider the Form 5 application as per the procedure prescribed under the law.
WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024 6 2025:KER:58892 In the circumstances mentioned above, I allow the writ petition in the following manner:
(i) Ext.P8 order is quashed. (ii) The 1st respondent/authorised officer is directed to
reconsider the Form 5 application, in accordance with the law, by either conducting a personal inspection of the property or considering Ext.P6 report.
(iii) The above exercise shall be completed within two months from the date of production of a copy of this judgment by the petitioner.
The writ petition is ordered accordingly.
sd/-
C.S.DIAS, JUDGE rkc/06.08.25 WP(C) NO. 28265 OF 2024 7 2025:KER:58892 APPENDIX OF WP(C) 28265/2024 PETITIONER EXHIBITS Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE GIFT DEED DATED 07.08.2014 REGISTERED AS DOCUMENT NO. 2811/1/2014 OF SRO KODUVALLY Exhibit P2 A TRUE COPY OF THE BASIC TAX RECEIPT NO.
KL11040604078/2024 DATED 07.05.2024 ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER Exhibit P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE BUILDING PERMIT DATED 25.08.2014 ISSUED BY THE KODUVALLY PANCHAYATH IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER Exhibit P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER OF ASSESSMENT NO.
BT2-5481/20 DATED 08.10.2021 BY THE TAHSILDAR THAMARASSERY WITH RESPECT TO THE BUILDING COVERED UNDER EXT. P3 PERMIT Exhibit P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE PROPERTY TAX RECEIPT DATED 22.01.2016 ISSUED BY THE 4TH RESPONDENT Exhibit P6 A TRUE COPY OF THE REPORT OF THE KERALA STATE REMOTE SENSING AND ENVIRONMENT CENTRE DATED 28.11.2022 Exhibit P7 A TRUE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTED BY THE PETITIONER IN THE PROPERTY COVERED UNDER EXT. P1 Exhibit P8 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE 1ST RESPONDENT DATED 23.11.2023 Exhibit P9 A TRUE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION DATED 12.03.2024 ISSUED BY THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, KOZHIKODE TO THE PETITIONER