IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARUN-UL-RASHID TUESDAY, THE 20TH DECEMBER 2011 / 29TH AGRAHAYANA 1933 WP(C).No. 32937 of 2011(N) -------------------------------------- PETITIONER : -------------------- ABDUL RAHIM, S/O.MAMMU, KADAKKADAN HOUSE, CHENGOTTUR, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT. BY ADVS. SRI.BABU S. NAIR SMT.SMITHA BABU RESPONDENT : ----------------------- KURUVA GRAMA PANCHAYATH, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, KURUVA, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT, PIN-676 551. ADV. SRI. S.A. SAJU, SC FOR KURUVA GRAMA PANCHAYATH THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 20/12/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: DSV/- WP(C).No. 32937 of 2011(N) APPENDIX PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS: EXT P1 : COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 29/09/2011 IN W.P.(C)NO.23788/2011 OF THIS HON'BLE COURT. EXT P2 : COPY OF THE WRITTEN ARGUMENT NOTES SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER DATED 19/11/2011 BEFORE THE RESPONDENT. EXT P3 : COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE RESPONDENT DATED 19/11/2011 AS NO.A3 6238/2011. RESPONDENT'S EXHIBITS: NIL /TRUE COPY/ P.A. TO JUDGE DSV/- HARUN-UL-RASHID, J. --------------------------------------- W.P.(C) No. 32937 of 2011 --------------------------------------- Dated this the 20th day of December 2011. JUDGMENT The writ petition is filed seeking to quash Ext.P3 and to issue direction commanding the respondent to issue building permit to the petitioner on the basis of the plan and sketch submitted by the petitioner. 2. Petitioner had applied for building permit for the construction of a building in the property owned by him. The application was rejected by the respondent by Ext.P3 communication stating the reason that the property of the petitioner is a reclaimed land and that the nature of the property is recorded in the revenue records as Nilam. Petitioner submits that the property wherein he proposed construction is a pucca dry land and the nature of the property is shown as purayidaom in the data bank prepared under Section 5(4) of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act. Earlier petitioner filed W.P.(C) No. 23788/2011 for the same relief. This Court by W.P.(C) No.32937/2011 2 judgment dated 29.9.2011 disposed of the writ petition directing the respondents to consider and pass appropriate orders. Ext.P1 is the copy of the judgment. In Ext.P1 this Court mentioned two decisions. It was held that the nature of the property recorded in the village office as paddy land is not a reason for rejecting the application for permit and that the ground reality has to be considered before passing an order on the application for building permit. 3. Inspite of the directions issued by this Court directing the respondents to reconsider the application for building permit in the light of the decisions mentioned in the judgment, the respondent issued Ext.P7 order rejecting the application stating the same ground. 4. The Division Bench of this Court in the decision reported in Praveen v.Land Revenue Commissioner (2010(2) KLT 617) held that the nature of the property recorded in the village office as paddy field is not a reason for rejecting the application for permit and that the ground reality has to be considered before passing an order on the application for building permit. Similar view was taken by this Court in the decision reported in W.P.(C) No.32937/2011 3 Shahanaz Shukkoor v. Chelannur Grama Panchayat (2009 (3)KLT 899). 5. In Ext.P1 case, this Court directed the respondents to reconsider the matter afresh in the light of the materials produced and the decisions rendered by this Court. 6. In the result, the writ petition is allowed. The respondents shall reconsider the application for building permit and pass appropriate orders on the application for building permit within a period of three weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the judgment without reference to the nature of the property recorded in the revenue records. The petitioner shall produce a copy of this judgment to the Secretary of the Grama Panchayat for further action. It is made clear that the judgment does not stand in the way of implementing any scheme or for acquisition of property for any public purpose in future. HARUN-UL-RASHID JUDGE al