Kerala High Court
Muhammed Rafi A vs The District Collector on 30 July, 2025
Author: C.S.Dias
Bench: C.S.Dias
WP(C) NO. 5238 OF 2025 1
2025:KER:56432
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 30TH DAY OF JULY 2025 / 8TH SRAVANA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 5238 OF 2025
PETITIONERS:
MUHAMMED RAFI A.,
AGED 40 YEARS
S/O. AHAMED, CHELAMPIRIYARAM HOUSE, VAVULLIAPURAM,
TARUR II, PALAKKAD, PIN - 678543
BY ADVS.
SHRI.MOHEMED FAVAS
SMT.DHILSHA HABEEB
RESPONDENTS:
1 THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR,
PALAKKAD DISTRICT, CIVIL STATION, KENATHUPARAMBU,
KUNATHURMEDU, PALAKKAD, KERALA, PIN - 678013
2 REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER,
PALAKKAD DISTRICT, CIVIL STATION, KENATHUPARAMBU,
KUNATHURMEDU, PALAKKAD, KERALA, PIN - 678013
3 AGRICULTURAL OFFICER,
AGRICULTURAL OFFICE, KAVASSERY,
PATHANPURAM,PALAKKAD, KERALA, PIN - 678543
BY SMT.JESSY S SALIM, GP
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 30.07.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 5238 OF 2025 2
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JUDGMENT
Dated this the 30th day of July, 2025
The petitioner is the owner in possession of 2.2
Ares of land comprised in Survey No.129/18 in Kavassery-1
Village, Alathur 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.P2 application in Form 5,
under Rule 4(4d) of the Rules. However, by Ext.P3 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 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.P3 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.P3 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
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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) 5238/2025
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE TAX RECEIPT DATED
22.10.2024 ISSUED BY REVENUE DEPARTMENT
EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE FORM 5 APPLICATION DATED
06.06.2022
EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE RDO DATED
20.03.2023
EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE SAID REPRESENTATION DATED
21.01.2025 SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER
BEFORE THE 2ND RESPONDENT
EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGEMENT IN WP (C)
NO.8886/2024 DATED 07/03/2024 OF THE
HONOURABLE HIGH COURT OF KERALA
