Sheeba Khaleel vs State Of Kerala
2024 Latest Caselaw 5025 Ker

Citation : 2024 Latest Caselaw 5025 Ker
Judgement Date : 15 February, 2024

Kerala High Court

Sheeba Khaleel vs State Of Kerala on 15 February, 2024

Author: Murali Purushothaman

Bench: Murali Purushothaman

            IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
                                PRESENT
        THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE MURALI PURUSHOTHAMAN
THURSDAY, THE 15TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2024 / 26TH MAGHA, 1945
                      WP(C) NO. 5258 OF 2024
PETITIONER:

            SHEEBA KHALEEL,
            AGED 42 YEARS
            W/O. KHALEEL K.P, RESIDING AT KADUKKAPPARAMBIL,
            ARUVITHURA P. O, ERATTUPETTA,
            KOTTAYAM DISTRICT, PIN - 686 122.

            BY ADVS.
            ANILA UMESH
            KEERTHI SAJEEV
            SRI. T.P.M IBRAHIM KHAN - SR.


RESPONDENTS:

    1       STATE OF KERALA,
            REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
            REVENUE DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT,
            THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695 001.
    2       THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR
            COLLECTORATE, KOTTAYAM,
            PIN - 686 002.
    3       THE TAHSILDAR,
            MEENACHIL TALUK, PALA, KOTTAYAM,
            PIN - 686 577.
    4       ERATTUPETTA MUNICIPALITY,
            REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
            ERATTUPETTA P.O, KOTTAYAM, PIN - 686 121.
    5       THE ASSISTANT ENGINEER,
            LID & EW, OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT ENGINEER,
            ERATTUPETTA MUNICIPALITY,
            KOTTAYAM, PIN - 686 121.

            SRI. SUNIL V. MOHAMMED - SC
            SMT. R.DEVISHREE - GP



     THIS     WRIT   PETITION    (CIVIL)     HAVING    COME    UP    FOR
ADMISSION     ON   15.02.2024,    THE     COURT   ON   THE    SAME   DAY
DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
 WP(C).No.5258 OF 2024

                                   2




                              JUDGMENT

The petitioner is the owner in possession of an

extent of 2 Ares and 3 Sq. Meters of land (5.7 cents of

land) comprised in Re.Sy. No.148/2-8, Block No.47 of

Erattupetta Municipality as per Ext.P1 sale deed. The

petitioner submitted an application for building

permit to construct a residential building in the said

property. The 5th respondent, by Ext.P3

communication, informed the petitioner that the

application cannot be considered since the property

has been entered in the records as 'Thottam' and that

permission cannot be granted under the Kerala Land

Utilisation Order, 1967. Ext.P3 is impugned in this

writ petition. According to the petitioner, the

property covered by Ext.P1 is exempted as a

plantation under the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963

(for short, 'the KLR Act').

WP(C).No.5258 OF 2024

2. The full Bench of this Court in Mathew K.

Jacob and Another v. District Environmental

Impact Assessment Authority [2018 (5) KHC 487 :

2018 (4) KLT 913 : ILR 2018 (4) KER.868 : 2019 (1) KLJ

49 : AIR 2019 KER.67] held that there is no prohibition

in using an exempted land for a different purpose

under the KLR Act. In District Collector v. Sajith

Lal [2023 KLT Online 1225], a Division Bench of this

Court held as follows:-

"5. There is no embargo under law in using any exempted for non-exempted purposes as well. If the land is used for non-exempted purposes, the holder of the land will lose the qualification for exemption, thus giving authority to the Land Board to initiate ceiling proceedings. The judgments cited at the Bar fortify the above legal proposition. The KLR Act provides no answer against conversion of the exempted land. Had it not been for the exemption, the land would have been included in the ceiling proceedings of the declarant for surrender. The only plausible conclusion in this situation is that the Land Board will be in a position to initiate ceiling proceedings."

3. Further, in Elias T.V and others v. Sub WP(C).No.5258 OF 2024

Collector, Wayanad and others [2019 (2) KLT 391],

this Court held as under:-

"Therefore, without such determination, the Government cannot claim any right over the land. The land still belongs to the holder of such land. There is no curtailment of nature of use of land contemplated under the various provisions of the KLR Act. The holder of the land is free to use the land as an absolute owner in accordance with law. If the landholder has converted the land by using it for other exempted or non-exempted purposes in a re determination of the ceiling, the extent of which conversion will have to be decided, and holder of land need to surrender only such portion of the land so determined".

4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner,

the learned Standing Counsel and the learned

Government Pleader.

5. In view of the above decisions, Ext.P3 to

the extent it rejects the petitioner's application for

building permit on the ground that the property is

classified as 'plantation' is illegal and arbitrary.

Accordingly, Ext.P3 is set aside. There will be a WP(C).No.5258 OF 2024

direction to the 4th respondent to re-consider the

application of the petitioner for building permit, if the

same is otherwise in order.

The writ petition is disposed of with the above

direction.

Sd/-

MURALI PURUSHOTHAMAN JUDGE

SPR WP(C).No.5258 OF 2024

APPENDIX

PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:-

EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE SALE DEED NO. 912/1/22 DATED 11.05.2022 BY WHICH THE PETITIONER HAD PURCHASED THE LAND.

EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE LAND TAX PAYMENT RECEIPT NO. KL05040305877/2022 DATED 18.07.2022. EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE REPLY NO. E1-6117/2023 DATED 05.09.2023 ISSUED BY THE 5TH RESPONDENT.