Siddeeque Ali.P.K vs The District Collector
2021 Latest Caselaw 14039 Ker

                IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
                                PRESENT
              THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN
     WEDNESDAY, THE 7TH DAY OF JULY 2021 / 16TH ASHADHA, 1943


                        WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019


PETITIONER:

          SIDDEEQUE ALI.P.K
          AGED 62 YEARS
          S/O. PILAKKALKANDI UMMER,
          CHEERATH HOUSE, KEEZHPARAMBA AMSOM,
          KUNIYIL DESOM, ERANAD TALUK,
          MALAPPURAM DISTRICT, 673 639,
          REPRESENTED BY HIS REGISTERED
          POWER OF ATTORNEY HOLDER ALI ASKAR,
          AGED 46 YEARS, S/O. K.V. ABDUSSALAM,
          MANAKAKT HOUSE, CHERUVADI,
          MAVOOR, KOZHIKODE DISTRICT 673 661.


          BY ADVS.
          R.RAMADAS
          SRI.T.SIVADASAN



RESPONDENTS:

    1     THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR
          KOZHIKODE , CIVIL STATION ROAD, 673 001.

    2     THE TAHSILDAR,
          TALUK OFFICE, KOZHIKODE 673 001.

    3     THE VILLAGE OFFICER,
          KUMARANELLOOR, KOZHIKODE 673 602.

    4     A.J. JOHN,
          AGED 59 YEARS
          ADAPPOOR PUTHENPURAYIL ,
          S/O. DECEASED ANNA JOSEPH RESIDING AT MANOTH HOUSE,
          KOODARANJI AMSOM, DESOM, P.O., KOODARANJI, MUKKOM
          KOZHIKODE DISTRICT, 673 604.
 WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

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           BY ADVS
           SRI.PIRAPPANCODE V.S.SUDHIR
           SMT.SHEEJA.C.S., GP


     THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
07.07.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
 WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

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                   P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, J
                 --------------------------------
                   W.P.(C).No.21611 of 2019
                  -------------------------------
              Dated this the 07th day of July, 2021


                           JUDGMENT

According to the petitioner he is the absolute owner

of 49.78 Ares of landed property comprised in re-survey

No.24/1 (old Sy.No.70/1) of Kumaranelloor village,

Kozhikode Taluk. According to the petitioner, the above

property was originally belongs to one Unnimoyi as per

Partition Deed No.2621/1952. Unnimoyi died and the

property devolved to his son Vayalil Nechooli Aboobacker

and his legal heirs. Legal heirs of Aboobacker relinquished

their right. Hence Aboobacker became the absolute owner

of the property. Aboobacker was paying Basic Land Tax for

the above property and Exts.P1 series are the Tax receipts

in the name of Aboobacker. The possession certificate

obtained by Aboobacker is also produced as Ext.P1(b).

Subsequently, as per Ext.P2 Sale Deed, the property was WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

sold to the petitioner. Exts.P3 series are the Tax receipts

showing that the petitioner was paying Basic Tax. Ext.P5 is

the Thandaper register, in which the name of the

petitioner is mentioned. Ext.P6 is the possession certificate

in the name of the petitioner.

2. The grievance of the petitioner is that the 2 nd

respondent passed Exhibit P8 order in which, even the title

of the petitioner in the property is found against him.

According to the petitioner Ext.P8 order passed by the 2 nd

respondent is illegal and beyond his jurisdiction. The

counsel submitted that, in the light of the title documents

produced by the petitioner, he is the absolute owner of the

property.

3. The contesting respondent No.4 filed a detailed

counter affidavit producing several documents. According

to him, his mother obtained 3.62 Acres of landed property

in Re-Survey No.20/1 as per document No.1472/1974 of

SRO Mukkom. According to the 4th respondent another WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

stretch of land with an extent of 1.58 Acres also belongs

his mother as per document No.1510/1974 of Mukkom

SRO. That is situated in Re-Survey No.20/2 and 24/1. This

is disputed by the petitioner. But according to 4 th

respondent, some of the property in Re-survey No.20/1

was declared as surplus land by the Taluk Land Board.

Thereafter, 7E application under the Kerala Land Reforms

Amendment Rules, 1970 was filed by the father and other

siblings. The Land Tribunal (Devaswom) issued an order

dated 10.01.2018 in their favour. The title certificate was

also issued to them. According to the 4 th respondent, the

predecessors of the petitioner filed O.S.No.858/1997

before Munsiff Court, Kozhikode. It was an injunction suit.

Ext.R4(h) is the judgment of the Civil Court by which the

suit was dismissed. The matter reached up to this Court

and as per Ext.R4(j), this Court dismissed the 2 nd appeal

vide order dated 17.02.2009 in R.S.A.No.71/2008.

Thereafter, the matter reached before the 2nd respondent

and the 2nd respondent passed Ext.P8 order considering all WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

the contentions of the petitioner and the 4 th respondent.

According to 4th respondent, there is nothing to interfere in

Ext.P8 order passed by the 2nd respondent.

4. Admittedly there is a civil dispute between the

petitioner and the 4th respondent about the title of the

disputed property. According to the petitioner, he is in

possession and he has got title in the disputed property.

According to the 4th respondent, he is in possession and he

has got title in the property. Both parties produced

documents to show that they are paying tax for the

disputed property. In such circumstances Ext.P8 order was

passed by the 2nd respondent. It is true that there is some

findings in Ext.P8 about the title of the property. The 2 nd

respondent has no authority to pass such observations in

Ext.P8 order. The 2nd respondent was actually directed by

this Court as per Ext.P7 to decide the question based on

the documents and orders passed by the Land Tribunal.

The question of title need not be considered by the 2 nd WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

respondent. These are matters to be decided by the Civil

Court. But, according to me, for that reason, Ext.P8 order

need not be set aside in toto. But I make it clear that, the

question of title of the disputed property is to be decided

by the Civil Court. The petitioner and the 4 th respondent

are free to approach the Civil Court by filing appropriate

proceedings and if such a proceedings/suit is filed by the

petitioner or the 4th respondent, the Civil Court will decide

the same untrammeled by any observation in Ext.P8 order

regarding the title. Of course, the Civil Court will do the

same because Ext.P8 is not binding to the Civil Court. The

petitioner and the 4th respondent are free to agitate all

their contentions on title of the disputed property before

Civil Court. All those questions are left open.

5. The main grievance of the petitioner is that till

the matter is disposed by the Civil Court, the authorities

concerned may not be allowed to accept land tax from the

4th respondent. Even if land tax is accepted that will not WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

create title to the petitioner or the 4 th respondent.

Mutation of a property and acceptance of tax will not by

itself either create or extinguish title nor has any

presumptive value on title. It only enables the person in

whose favour mutation has been effected to pay land

revenue in question [Sawarni v. Inder Kaur and others

(1996 (6) SCC 233) and Larson T. George v. State of Kerala

(2019(1) KLT 128]. Therefore, all the contentions of the

parties about the title of the disputed property are left

open.

With these observations this writ petition is disposed.

Sd/-

P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN JUDGE

VPK WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

APPENDIX OF WP(C) 21611/2019

PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE LAND TAX RECEIPT NO.81 DATED 08/08/2000 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER, FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FR THE YEAR 2000- 2001 IN RESPECT OF THE PROPERTY.

EXHIBIT P1(A) TRUE COPY OF THE LAND TAX RECEIPT NO.90 DATED 16/04/2001 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER, FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2001- 2002 IN RESPECT OF THE SAID ITEM OF PROPERTY.

TRUE COPY OF THE POSSESSION CERTIFICATE EXHIBIT P1(B) DATED 03/07/2001 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALAIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER.

TRUE COPY OF THE LAND TAX RECEIPT DATED EXHIBIT P1(C) 20/03/2007 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2006-2007 IN RESPECT OF THE SAID PROPERTY.

TRUE COPY OF RECEIPT NO.7945232 DATED EXHIBIT P1(D) 10/04/2007 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2007-2008 IN RESPECT OF THE SAID PROPERTY.

EXHIBIT P1(E) TRUE COPY OF RECEIPT NO.7549845 DATED 08/05/2008 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2008-2009 IN RESPECT OF THE SAID PROPERTY.

TRUE COPY OF RECEIPT NO.7497262 DATED EXHIBIT P1(F) 05/06/2009 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2009-2010 IN RESPECT OF THE SAID PROPERTY.

WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

EXHIBIT P1(G) TRUE COPY OF RECEIPT NO.7395658 DATED 12/05/2010 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2010-2011 IN RESPECT OF THE SAID PROPERTY.

EXHIBIT P1(H) TRUE COPY OF RECEIPT NO.7406947 DATED 12/05/2011 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO VAYALIL NECHOOLI ABOOBACKER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2011-2012 IN RESPECT OF THE SAID PROPERTY.

EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE REGISTERED SALE DEED NO.3733/2011 DATED 11/11/2011 OF SRO, MUKKAM.

Exhibit P3 TRUE COPY OF THE BASIC TAX RECEIPT NO.I-

0612637 DATED 23/01/2013 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER HEREIN IN RESPECT OF 49.78 ARES OBTAINED BY HIM AS PER EXT.P3 SALE DEED AND COMPRISED IN R.S. NO.24/1, FOR THE PERIOD FROM 2012-13.

Exhibit P3(A) TRUE COPY OF RECEIPT NO.088027 DATED 16/05/2013 ISSUED BY 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE YEAR 2013-2014 IN RESPECT OF THE VERY SAME PROPERTY.

Exhibit P3(B) TRUE COPY OF RECEIPT NO.5666700 DATED 18/07/2017 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE PERIOD 2017-18 IN RESPECT OF THE VERY SAME PROPERTY OBTAINED BY HIM AS PER EXT.P3.

Exhibit P4 TRUE COPY OF THE RECEIPT NO. KL-

11012503619/2018 DATED 29/10/2018 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER FOR PAYMENT OF BASIC TAX FOR THE PERIOD 2018- 2019 IN RESPECT OF 49.78 ARES OF LANDED PROPERTY.

Exhibit P5 TRUE COPY OF THE THANDAPER ACCOUNT IN RESPECT OF THANDAPER NO.205 MAINTAINED BY WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

THE 3RD RESPONDENT AND ISSUED TO THE PETITIONER ON 27/02/2017 IN RESPECT OF 49.78 ARES IN R.S. NO.24/1.

Exhibit P6 TRUE COPY OF THE POSSESSION CERTIFICATE DATED 30/10/2018 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER IN RESPECT OF THE VERY SAME ITEM OF LANDED PROPERTY.

Exhibit P7 TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 18/09/2018 IN WRIT PETITION NO.30587/2018 PASSED BY THIS HONOURABLE COURT.

Exhibit P8 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO. B3-19641/12 DATED 11/06/2019 PASSED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P9 TRUE COPY OF THE BASIC TAX RECEIPT KL-

11012503394/2019 DATED 12/06/2019 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE 4TH RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P10 TRUE COPY OF THE STATEMENT OF FACTS SUBMITTED BY THE THEN TAHSILDAR, KOZHIKODE TO THE ADVOCATE GENERAL FOR FILING COUNTER AFFIDAVIT IN THE MATTER ALONG WITH THE COVERING LETTER DATED 10/11/2010 OBTAINED UNDER THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT.

Exhibit P11 TRUE COPY OF THE REPORT DATED 09/01/2014 SUBMITTED BY THE VILLAGE OFFICER, KUMARANELLOOR TO THE 2ND RESPONDENT OBTAINED BY THE PETITIONER UNDER RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT.

RESPONDENTS'S EXHIBITS

Exhibit R4(A) TRUE COPY OF THE DOCUMENT NO.1472/1974 OF MUKKOM SUB REGISTRY, EXECUTED ON 04/07/1974.

Exhibit R4(B) TRUE COPY OF THE DOCUMENT NO.1510/1974 OF MUKKOM SUB REGISTRY EXECUTED ON 05/07/1974.

TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 24/11/2015 WP(C) NO. 21611 OF 2019

Exhibit R4(C) OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT IN WPC NO.35541/2015.

Exhibit R4(D) TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 10/01/2018 IN SMC/OA-263/12 OF THE COURT OF THE LAND TRIBUNAL DEVASWOM, KOZHIKODE.

Exhibit R4(E) TRUE COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE OF TITLE DATED 05/06/2018, CERTIFYING THAT SRI. JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF SMT. MANOTH ANNA AND MARY, ROSAMMA, JOHN (4TH RESPONDENT), PHILOMINA AND SHAJU, CHILDREN OF ANNA ARE THE TENANTS.

Exhibit R4(F) TRUE COPY OF THE CHALAN EVIDENCING REMITTANCE OF RS.6,516/-.

Exhibit R4(G) TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION RECEIVED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT ON 07/06/2018.

Exhibit R4(H) TRUE COPY OF THE COMMON JUDGMENT DATED 18/01/2002 IN OS NO. 858/1997 AND 886/1997 OF THE MUNSIFF'S COURT, KOZHIKODE-2.

Exhibit R4(I) TRUE COPY OF THE COMMON JUDGMENT DATED 30/05/2006 IN A.S. 62/02 AND A.S. 116/03 OF THE SUB COURT, KOZHIKODE.

Exhibit R4(J) TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 17/02/2009 OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT IN RSA NO.71/2008.

Exhibit R4(K) TRUE COPY OF THE RECEIPT DATED 12/06/2019 ISSUED BY THE VILLAGE OFFICER, KUMARANALLUR.

Exhibit R4(L) TRUE COPY OF THE POSSESSION CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY THE VILLAGE OFFICER, KUMARANELLUR DATED 12/06/2019.