Kerala High Court
Afsal V vs State Of Kerala, Rep. By The Secretary on 30 July, 2025
Author: C.S.Dias
Bench: C.S.Dias
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WP(C) NO. 32810 OF 2024
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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. 32810 OF 2024
PETITIONER:
AFSAL V.,
AGED 37 YEARS
S/O VEERASAHIB A, ANUGRAHA HOUSE, ATHALOOR,
KODUNTHIRAPULLY,PIRAYIRI, PALAKKAD, PIN - 678004
BY ADVS.
SRI.K.ANAND
SHRI.AMEER SALIM
SRI.N.RAJESH (PALAKKAD)
KUM.POOJA DILIP
SMT.NANDHANA T.B.
RESPONDENTS:
1 STATE OF KERALA, REP. BY THE SECRETARY,
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT,DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL SELF
GOVERNMENT, THIRUVANATHAPURAM, PIN - 695001
2 THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER,
OFFICE OF THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER
,PARAKKUNNAM, VIDYUT NAGAR, PALAKKAD, PIN - 678001
3 KERALA STATE REMOTE SENSING AND ENVIRONMENT CENTRE,
1ST FLOOR, VIKAS BHAVAN, NEAR LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY,
UNIVERSITY OF KERALA SENATE HOUSE CAMPUS, PMG,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA REP. BY ITS DIRECTOR, PIN
- 695033
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SMT.JESSY S.SALIM, GP
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR FINAL
HEARING ON 30.07.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
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C.S.DIAS, J.
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WP(C) No.32810 of 2024
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Dated this the 30th day of July, 2025
JUDGMENT
The petitioner is the owner in possession of 15.05
Ares of land comprised in Re-survey No.29/2 in Piriyari
Village in Palakkad Taluk, covered under Ext.P1 gift deed
and Ext.P3 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 a Form 5
application, under Rule 4(4d) of the Rules. However, by
Ext.P5 order, the authorised officer has summarily
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rejected the application without either conducting a
personal 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
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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 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.P5 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
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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
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.P5 order is quashed.
(ii) The 2nd respondent/authorised officer is directed to
reconsider the Form 5, in accordance with the law, by
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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
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
dkr
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APPENDIX OF WP(C) 32810/2024
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE GIFT DEED NO. 3399/2018
DATED 31.07.2018 OF SUB REGISTRAR OFFICE
PALAKKAD
EXHIBIT P2 A TRUE COPY OF THE POSSESSION CERTIFICATE
NO. 79701385 DATED 30.07.2023 OF PIRIYARI
VILLAGE OFFICE
EXHIBIT P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE LAND TAX NO.
KL09052709587/2023 DATED 29.07.2023 ISSUED
BY THE PIRIYARI VILLAGE OF PALAKKAD TALUK
EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE
VEGETATION AND NEARBY HOUSES OF THE
PROPERTY
EXHIBIT P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 20.04.2021
IN FILE NO. RDOPKD/1027/2021-J3 OF THE 2ND
RESPONDENT
