K.J.Tomy @ Tom vs The District Collector
2021 Latest Caselaw 17943 Ker

              IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
                                  PRESENT
         THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
 WEDNESDAY, THE 1ST DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2021 / 10TH BHADRA, 1943
                         WP(C) NO. 1689 OF 2020
PETITIONER:

             K.J.TOMY @ TOM
             AGED 83 YEARS
             S/O.JOSEPH, KANATTU HOUSE, THEVARA, KOCHI-682013,
             NOW RESIDING AT KANATTU HOUSE, VALOORAN ROAD,
             NJARACKAL, PIN-682505.

          BY ADVS.
          K.R.VINOD
          SMT.M.S.LETHA
          KUM.K.S.SREEREKHA
          SRI.NABIL KHADER


RESPONDENTS:

     1       THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR
             COLLECTORATE, CIVIL STATION, ERNAKULAM, PIN-682030.

     2       REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER,
             ERNAKULAM, OFFICE OF THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER,
             FORT KOCHI, KOCHI-682001.

     3       LAND REVENUE COMMISSIONER,
             THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN-695036.

     4       THE TAHSILDAR (LR),
             TALUK OFFICE, KANAYANNUR, KOCHI-682011.

     5       TALUK SURVEYOR,
             KANAYANNUR TALUK, ERNAKULAM, PIN-682011.

     6       THE VILLAGE OFFICER,
             ELAMKULAM VILLAGE, KOCHI-682020.

             SMT RESHMITHA RAMACHANDRAN -GOVERNMENT PLEADER


      THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON   01.09.2021,   THE    COURT   ON   THE   SAME   DAY   DELIVERED   THE
FOLLOWING:
 WP(C) NO. 1689 OF 2020                   2

                                   JUDGMENT

The petitioner says that he has preferred Ext.P4

representation before the 1st respondent - District

Collector, seeking that the entries in the Revenue

Records with respect to his property, having an

extent of 1.52 Ares in Survey No.972/10 of Elamkulam

Village, be corrected and to record it as being a

'Garden Land' and not 'Puramboke'.

2. According to the petitioner, even though

Ext.P4 has been preferred by him as early as on

15.02.2019, no action has been taken by the 1 st

respondent - District Collector until now; and he,

therefore, prays that same be directed to be done

within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.

3. In response, the learned Government Pleader,

Smt.Reshmitha Ramachandran, submitted that even

though there is no legal impediment in Ext.P4 being

considered by the District Collector, the fact

remains that the records with respect to acquisition

of the property more than four or five decades ago

are not available and that for the said period no tax

has been paid on the said property. She, therefore,

prayed that the 1st respondent - District Collector

be permitted to consider Ext.P4 as per law and that

this Court may not make any affirmative declarations

in favour of the petitioner in this judgment.

4. When I consider the afore submissions, it is

indubitable that since Ext.P4 application has already

been preferred by the petitioner before the 1st

respondent, it will not be proper or prudent for this

Court to speak about the merits of the same in any

manner whatsoever. I am certain that said

representation will require to be disposed of by the

1st respondent - District Collector appropriately, so

that the petitioner can then obtain further recourse

as per law, if it becomes so necessary.

In the afore circumstances, I order this writ

petition and direct the 1st respondent - District

Collector to take up Ext.P4 representation of the

petitioner and dispose of the same, after affording

him an opportunity of being heard, thus culminating

in an appropriate order thereon, as expeditiously as

is possible, but not later than three months from the

date of receipt of a copy of this judgment.

Needless to say, if, after the afore exercise,

the 1st respondent is to find in favour of the

petitioner's request, then all necessary instructions

for correction of the relevant entries in the Revenue

Records, with respect to his property, will also be

issued and the same completed without any avoidable

delay thereafter.

Sd/-

DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN JUDGE MC/2.9

APPENDIX OF WP(C) 1689/2020

PETITIONER EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT P1 THE COPY OF THE THANDAPER REGISTER IN THE NAME OF THE PETITIONER KEPT WITH THE OFFICE OF THE 6TH RESPONDENT.

EXHIBIT P2 THE COPY OF THE LAND TAX PAYMENT RECEIPT OF THE PROPERTY OF THE PETITIONER.

EXHIBIT P3 THE COPY OF THE BASIC TAX REGISTER SHOWING THE INCLUSION OF PROPERTY OF THE PETITIONER IN SY.NO.972/10 AND CATEGORIZED AS PURAMBOKE.

EXHIBIT P4 THE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE 1ST RESPONDENT.

EXHIBIT P5 THE COPY OF SURVEY SKETCH OF THE PROPERTY OF THE PETITIONER PREPARED BY TALUK SURVEYOR, ERNAKULAM.

EXHIBIT P6 THE COPY OF THE REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE 4TH RESPONDENT TO THE 1ST RESPONDENT DATED 26.11.2019.

EXHIBIT P7 THE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION OF THE 4TH RESPONDENT DATED 28.12.2019 TO THE PETITIONER.

EXHIBIT P8 THE COPY OF THE REPORT PREPARED BY THE 5TH RESPONDENT SUBMITTED TO THE 4TH RESPONDENT.