Kerala High Court
M/S Virtus Investments Pvt. Ltd vs The Revenue Divisional Officer on 20 August, 2025
Author: C.S.Dias
Bench: C.S.Dias
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 1 2025:KER:63034
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 20TH DAY OF AUGUST 2025 / 29TH SRAVANA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025
PETITIONER:
M/S VIRTUS INVESTMENTS PVT. LTD,
T.C 4/ 1744 (2), 29, BELHEAVEN GARDENS, KOWDIAR P.O.,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT, PIN - 695 003 ,
REPRESENTED BY ITS AUTHORIZED SIGNATORY BIPIN KUMAR
C.V, AGED 39 YEARS, S/O CHANDRAN NAIR, T.C 8/1089 -I,
ERUTHATTUKONATHU HOUSE, MYTHRI NAGAR -A43, THIRUMALA
P.O, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT, PIN - 695006
BY ADVS.
SRI.P.K.SOYUZ
SRI.E.V.BABYCHAN
RESPONDENTS:
1 THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER
SUB COLLECTOR,ADOOR RDO OFFICE, ADOOR P.O,
PATHANATHITTA DISTRICT, PIN - 691523
2 DEPUTY COLLECTOR (RR),
PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT,CIVIL STATION, PATHANAMTHITTA
P.O.,PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT, PIN - 689645
3 THE AGRICULTURAL OFFICER,
KRISHI BHAVAN,KOZHENCHERRY , KOZHENCHERRY P.O ,
PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT, PIN - 689641
4 THE VILLAGE OFFICER,
KOZHENCHERRY VILLAGE,KOZHENCHERRY , KOZHENCHERRY
P.O , PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT, PIN - 689641
5 THE DIRECTOR,
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 2 2025:KER:63034
KERALA STATE REMOTE SENSING AND ENVIRONMENT CENTRE,
(KSREC) C BLOCK , VIKAS BHAVAN, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
PIN - 695033
SR.GP.SMT.PREETHA K.K., SC- SRI.VISHNU S.
CHEMPAZHANTHIYIL
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
20.08.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 3 2025:KER:63034
C.S.DIAS, J.
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WP(C) No. 7785 OF 2025
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Dated this the 20th day of August, 2025
JUDGMENT
The petitioner company is the owner in possession
of 51.20 Ares of land comprised in Survey Nos. 251/3 ,
285/24 -1, 285/30 and 295/34 - 2 of Kozhencherry Village ,
Kozhencherry 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 '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 Ext.P3 application in Form 5,
under Rule 4(4d) of the Rules. However, by Ext.P4 order,
the authorised officer has summarily rejected the
application without either conducting a personal
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 4 2025:KER:63034
inspection of the land or calling for the satellite pictures
as 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 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
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 5 2025:KER:63034
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 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.P4 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
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 6 2025:KER:63034
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.
In the circumstances mentioned above, I allow the writ
petition in the following manner:
(i) Ext.P4 order is quashed.
(ii) The 2nd 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 property
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 7 2025:KER:63034
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
SCB.20.08.25.
WP(C) NO. 7785 OF 2025 8 2025:KER:63034
APPENDIX OF WP(C) 7785/2025
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE LAND TAX RECEIPT DATED
19./04/2023 ISSUED BY THE 4TH RESPONDENT
VILLAGE OFFICER
Exhibit P2 A TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF DATA
BANK OF KOZHENCHERRY GRAMA PANCHAYATH DATED
23.12.2011
Exhibit P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION IN FORM NO.
5 DATED 20.04.2023
Exhibit P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO. 41/2024 DATED
19.09.2024 OF THE 2ND RESPONDENT
