Kerala High Court
Augustine F. Akkara vs Revenue Divisional Officer & Deputy ... on 17 September, 2025
Author: C.S.Dias
Bench: C.S.Dias
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025 1 2025:KER:69250
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS
WEDNESDAY, THE 17TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2025 / 26TH BHADRA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025
PETITIONER:
AUGUSTINE F. AKKARA
AGED 78 YEARS
AUGUSTINE F.AKKARA, S/O KUNHIPORINCHU, AGED 78
YEARS, AKKARA HOUSE, 2/581/2,PANOKARAN ROAD,
KANIMANGALAM P.O.,THRISSUR, PIN - 680027
BY ADVS.
SHRI.ASOK KUMAR K.P.
SHRI.ABDUL HAMEED RAFI
SHRI.RAKESH S MENON
RESPONDENTS:
1 REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER & DEPUTY COLLECTOR
REVENUE RECOVERY, THRISSUR, CIVIL STATION,
COLLECTORATE, AYYANTHOLE, THRISSUR, PIN - 680003
2 LOCAL LEVEL MONITORING COMMITTEE
PUTHUR GRAMA PANCHAYAT, REPRESENTED BY ITS
CONVENER & AGRICULTURAL OFFICER, PUTHUR KRISHI
BHAVAN, PIN - 680014
3 AGRICULTURE OFFICER
KRISHI BHAVAN, PUTHUR, THRISSUR DISTRICT, PIN -
680014
GP.SMT.DEEPA V
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION
ON 17.09.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025 2 2025:KER:69250
C.S.DIAS, J.
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WP(C) No. 18504 OF 2025
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Dated this the 17th day of September, 2025
JUDGMENT
The petitioner is the owner in possession of
0.4168 hectares of land comprised in Re-Survey No.
123/40 of Marathakara Village, Thrissur Taluk,
covered under 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 Ext.P6
application in Form 5, under Rule 4(4d) of the Rules.
However, by Ext.P7 order, the authorised officer has
summarily rejected the application without either
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025 3 2025:KER:69250
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 this Court -- including the decisions in
Muraleedharan Nair R v. Revenue Divisional Officer
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025 4 2025:KER:69250
[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.P7 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 and the validation report issued by the KSREC,
the authorised officer has not rendered any independent
finding regarding the nature and character of the land as
on the relevant date. There is also no finding whether the
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025 5 2025:KER:69250
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.P7 order is quashed.
(ii) The 1st respondent/authorised officer is
directed to reconsider the Ext.P6 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.
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025 6 2025:KER:69250
(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
SCB
WP(C) NO. 18504 OF 2025 7 2025:KER:69250
APPENDIX OF WP(C) 18504/2025
PETITIONER EXHIBITS
Exhibit P- 1 TRUE COPY OF THE DOCUMENT NO. 3808/1980
DATED 06.09.1980 OF SRO, OLLUKARA,
THRISSUR
Exhibit P-2 TRUE COPY OF THE CORRECTION DEED NO.
543/1990 DATED 12.02.1990 OF KUTTANELLUR,
SRO
Exhibit P-3 TRUE COPY OF THE LAND TAX RECEIPT DATED
09.04.2025
Exhibit P- 4 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE
NOTIFIED DATA BANK IN RESPECT OF
MARATHAKARA VILLAGE IN PUTHUR GRAMA
PANCHAYATH
Exhibit P-5 TRUE COPY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWING THE
GROUND REALITY OF THE LAND
Exhibit P-6 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION IN FORM 5
DATED 29.05.2024 PREFERRED TO THE 1ST
RESPONDENT
Exhibit P-7 TRUE COPY OF ORDER NO.1246/2025 DATED
19.03.2025 OF THE 1ST RESPONDENT
