Kerala High Court
Venugopalan C V vs State Of Kerala on 13 August, 2025
Author: C.S.Dias
Bench: C.S.Dias
WP(C) NO. 7033 OF 2025 1
2025:KER:60923
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF AUGUST 2025 / 22ND SRAVANA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 7033 OF 2025
PETITIONER:
VENUGOPALAN C V.,
AGED 47 YEARS, K V HOUSE, UDAYAGIRI, KAYYUR, RAILWAY
STATION P.O, CHERUVATHOOR, HOSDURG,KASARGOD, THROUGH
HIS POWER OF ATTORNEY HOLDER M DURGADAS, MOORKOTH
MADIVAYAL, P.O PILICODE, HOSDURG,KASARGOD DISTRICT,
PIN - 670310
BY ADV SRI.UNNI. K.K. (EZHUMATTOOR)
RESPONDENTS:
1 STATE OF KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,REVENUE
DEPARTMENT, GOVT. SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
PIN - 695001
2 DISTRICT COLLECTOR,
CIVIL STATION,VIDYANAGAR, KASARGOD, PIN - 671121
3 REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER(SUB COLLECTOR)
REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICE, PUTHIYA KOTTA KANHAGAD,
KASARGOD DISTRICT, PIN - 671315
4 AGRICULTURAL OFFICER
KRISHI BHAVAN, PILICODE P.O, KASARGOD DISTRICT,
PIN - 670310
5 VILLAGE OFFICER
PILICODE VILLAGE KASARGOD DISTRICT, PIN - 670310
6 DIRECTOR,
KERALA STATE REMOTE SENSING AND ENVIRONMENT
CENTRE(KSRSEC), C BLOCK VIKAS BHAVAN,
THIRUVANATHAPURAM, PIN - 69503
BY SMT.VIDYA KURIAKOSE, SR.GP
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 13.08.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 7033 OF 2025 2
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JUDGMENT
Dated this the 13th day of August, 2025
The petitioner is the owner in possession of 8.37
Ares of land comprised in Re-Survey No.9/3 in Block No.69
in Pilicode Village, Hosdurg Taluk, covered under Ext.P1
land tax receipt. The property is a converted land and is
unsuitable for paddy cultivation. Nevertheless, the
respondents have erroneously classified the property as
'wetland' 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 Ext.P5 application in
Form 5, under Rule 4(4d) of the Rules. However, by Ext.P6
order, the authorised officer has summarily rejected the
application without either conducting a personal
inspection of the land or calling for the satellite pictures as
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mandated under Rule 4(4f) of the Rules. Furthermore, the
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 Senior 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
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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 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.P6 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
called for the satellite pictures as mandated under Rule
4(4f) of the Rules. Instead, the authorised officer has
merely acted upon the report of the Agricultural 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
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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.
In the circumstances mentioned above, I allow the
writ petition in the following manner:
(i) Ext.P6 order is quashed.
(ii) The 3rd 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 calling for the satellite
pictures as provided under Rule 4(4f) of the Rules, at
the cost of the petitioner.
(iii) If satellite pictures are called for, the
application shall be disposed of within three months
from the date of receipt of such pictures. On the other
hand, if the authorised officer opts to inspect the
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property personally, the application shall be disposed
of within two months from the date of production of a
copy of this judgment by the petitioner.
The writ petition is thus ordered accordingly.
Sd/-
C.S.DIAS, JUDGE
NAB
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APPENDIX OF WP(C) 7033/2025
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT.P1 TRUE COPY OF THE TAX RECEIPT DATED
3.9.2024 ISSUED BY THE VILLAGE OFFICER,
PILICODE
EXHIBIT.P2 TRUE COPY OF THE SALE DEED NO.2876/1988
DATED 5.10.1988 OF SRO THRIKKARIPUR
EXHIBIT.P3 TRUE COPY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWING THE
NATURE OF LAND
EXHIBIT.P4 TRUE COPY OF THE FINAL DATA BANK PUBLISHED
IN GAZETTE DATED 24.3.2012 BY THE PILICODE
GRAMAPANCHAYATH
EXHIBIT.P5 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION IN FORM NO.5
DATED 28.1.2023
EXHIBIT.P6 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 2.7.2024 OF
THE 3RD RESPONDENT
EXHIBIT.P7 TRUE COPY OF THE BASIC TAX REGISTER ISSUED
BY THE VILLAGE OFFCIER PILICODE OBTAINED
UNDER RTI ACT
EXHIBIT.P8 TRUE COPY OF THE TP REGISTER ISSUED BY THE
VILLAGE OFFICER OBTAINED UNDER UNDER RTI
ACT
