IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE K.T.SANKARAN THURSDAY, THE 10TH JUNE 2010 / 20TH JYAISTHA 1932 WP(C).No. 14380 of 2009(N) -------------------------- PETITIONER: ----------------------- M.SADIK, SWEET HOUSE,DIAMOND FOOD PRODUCTS,PADA NORTH, KARUNAGAPPALLY. BY ADV. SRI.S.ABDUL RAZZAK RESPONDENTS: ------------------------- 1. GOVERNMENT OF KERALA,DEPARTMENT OF LAND REVENUE REP.BY ITS SECRETARY, GOVT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. THE COMMISSIONER,LAND REVENUE DEPT, GOVT.OF KERALA,PUBLIC OFFICE BUILDING, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-33. 3. THE DISTRITC COLLECTOR,CIVIL STATION, KOLLAM. 4. THE TAHSILDAR,KARUNAGAPPALLY,KOLLAM. SMT. NISHA BOSE, GOVERNMENT PLEADER FOR R3 THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 10/06/2010, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: WP(C).No. 14380 of 2009(N) APPENDIX PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS: EXHIBIT P1: PHOTOCOPY OF SALE DEED DATED 10/3/1986. EXHIBIT P2: PHOTOCOPY OF LAND TAX REGISTER EXHIBIT P3: PHOTOCOPY OF NOTICE NO.D1/665/07.............. EXHIBIT P4: PHOTOCOPY OF DISTRICT COLLECTOR'S ORDER DATED 17/5/2007..... EXHIBIT P5: PHOTOCOPY OF APPEAL DATED 12/2/2008. EXHIBIT P6: PHOTOCOPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 24/6/2008 IN W.P(C)NO. 18879 OF 2008 (V)---------- EXHIBIT P7: PHOTOCOPY OF THE INTERIM ORDER DATED 11/7/2008 NO. LRK 3- 8452/08 OF THE 2ND RESPONDENT...................... EXHIBIT P8: PHOTOCOPY OF THE APPELLATE ORDER DATED 30/9/2008 OF THE 2ND RESPONDENT. EXHIBIT P9: PHOTOCOPY OF THE REVISION PETITION FILED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE FIRST RESPONDENT.................... EXHIBIT P10: PHOTOCOPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 2/1/2009 IN W.P(C) NO.53 OF 2009(F)..... EXHIBIT P11: PHOTOCOPY OF G.O(MS)NO.158/09/RD DATED 22/4/2009......... EXHIBIT P1(A) : PHOTOCOPY OF SALE DEED DATED 6/6/1987. EXHIBIT P1(B): PHOTOCOPY OF SALE DEED DATED 5/01/1988. EXHIBIT P1(C): PHOTOCOPY OF SALE DEED DATED 3/3/1988. TRUE COPY P.A. TO JUDGE scm K.T. SANKARAN, J. --------------------------- W.P(C).No. 14380 of 2009 ------------------------------------ Dated this the 10th day of June, 2010 J U D G M E N T The petitioner is the owner of the property which he purchased as per Exhibit P1 sale deed dated 10/3/1986. The document shows that the property belonged to Krishnan Unnithan, who sold the same to Abdul Rahman Kunju in the year 1984. The petitioner purchased the property in 1986 from Abdul Rahman Kunju. The property is bounded on the north by Karunagappally-Sasthamcotta road and on the west by railway line. It is stated that there is a 'Thodu' on the east and south of the property. According to the petitioner, the total extent of the property is One acre 48 ¾ cents of land equivalent to 60.19 Ares. According to the petitioner, he sold an extent of 30 cents (12.14 Ares) and an extent of 3 cents (1.21 Ares) to his wife as per the sale deeds dated 6/6/1987 and 5/1/1988 (Exhibits P1(a) and P1(b)). Thus, according to the petitioner, he retained the balance extent of One acre and 15.75 cents equivalent to 46.84 Ares. The property is situated in Survey Nos.16623, 16622, and 16619 of Karunagappally Village. 2. The petitioner relies on Exhibit P2 Tandaper Account to W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 2 show that he owned an extent of 60.19 Ares, and after the two sale deeds executed in favour of his wife, he retained 46.84 Ares of land. 3. The petitioner was served with Exhibit P3 notice or order dated nil issued by the Tahsildar, Karunagapally directing the petitioner to vacate 5 Ares of puramboke land in resurvey No. 665/1 on the ground that he had encroached upon that land. The petitioner states that on getting Exhibit P3, he filed a petition under the Right to Information Act and applied for a copy of the order, on the basis of which Exhibit P3 was issued. It is stated that the Tahsildar had given the petitioner copy of the proceedings of the District Collector dated 17/5/2007, which is marked as Exhibit P4 in the Writ Petition. As per Exhibit P4, the District Collector had constituted District level and Taluk level Special Task Forces to protect the Government lands and for evicting the encroachers in Government lands. Exhibit P4 does not deal with the case of the petitioner. Therefore, he would not be aggrieved by such constitution of Task Forces. It is stated that after three days of the service of Exhibit P3 on the petitioner, a W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 3 board was placed in his property showing that the property is one belonging to the Government of Kerala. The petitioner filed Exhibit P5 appeal before the Land Revenue Commissioner, Thiruvananthapurm challenging the order which led to Exhibit P3, as well as Exhibit P3. The Land Revenue Commissioner disposed of the appeal as per Exhibit P8 order dated 30/9/2008. A perusal of Exhibit P8 order would indicate that the case put forward by the respondents was that the petitioner had encroached upon an extent of 4.60 Ares of puramboke land lying in resurvey No. 665/1 in Karunagapally Village. The Land Revenue Commissioner, after stating the brief history of the case, the submission of the appellant, the reliefs prayed for by him, the report made by the District Collector and the grounds raised, passed the following order: “ The Appellant's Counsel and the Respondents were heard in detail. On perusal of the records it came to the notice that, there was a reduction of 0.28 Ares of appellant's property after the finalisation of resurvey. However, ample opportunity was given to the appellant as per the Survey and Boundaries Rules, 1964 before finalisation of resurvey, to raise objection if any. The appellant not only failed to raise any objection, but has been remitting land tax in Thandapers 13156 and 13322 W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 4 since 7/7/2000 and 22/7/2002 respectively. The appellant did not raise any other objection either by way of oral or written means.” 4. That the Land Revenue Commissioner has not comprehended the facts is clear from the order. The Land Revenue Commissioner stated in the order that there was a reduction of 0.28 Ares of appellant's property at the time of resurvey and that the petitioner had not complained about the same at the appropriate time. The case of the petitioner is that he has not encroached upon Government land and that he is in possession of the property obtained by him as per Exhibit P1 sale deed after deducting an extent of property sold by him to his wife. It is stated that there are clear boundaries and compound walls separating the property from the rest of the properties. 5. Aggrieved by Exhibit P8 order passed by the Land Revenue Commissioner, the petitioner filed Exhibit P9-revision before the Government. The revision was disposed of as per Exhibit P11 order dated 22/4/2009. The finding in Exhibit P11 order is contained in Para 4 therein, which is quoted below: “The petitioner and the Revenue officials were heard in W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 5 detail. The records produced in support of claims were also perused. It is seen that the petitioner is aggrieved by the fact that land holding was reduced by 0.28 ares after the re-survey. It is also seen that he did not raise any objection during the finalization of re-survey as per the provisions of Survey and Boundaries Act, 1964. Instead of raising any objection at that time, he continued to remit the tax in Thandaper Nos.13156 and 13322 continuously for which the Revenue authorities cannot be held responsible. The action of the DC in evicting the encroachment is also found to have been done in accordance with the rules in force. The appellate authorities have also taken all these facts into consideration before passing the impugned order. The petition is found to be devoid of merits and is dismissed.” 6. The Deputy Secretary, who passed Exhibit P11 order, also committed the very same error which was committed by the Land Revenue Commissioner. The proceedings of the Tahsildar and the orders passed in appeal and revision are challenged in this Writ Petition. There is also a prayer to issue a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to restore status quo ante and to desist from dispossessing the petitioner or from interfering with the right of the petitioner to enjoy his property. There is also a prayer to identify the reduced extent of land after resurvey before demarcating any puramboke land. W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 6 7. In this Writ petition, an order dated 21/1/2010 was passed, which reads as follows: “Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader. The petitioner submitted that going by the counter affidavit filed by the respondents an extent of 54.00 ares were registered in the name of the petitioner in Resurvey No.665/2 in Block No.10 of Karunagappally Village. What has been reduced from out of the total extent as per Exhibit P1, P1(A) and P1(B) title deeds is only 0.28 ares. It is submitted that Thandapper Account was not considered by the revenue authorities and the contentions of the petitioner with regard to this aspect was not considered by the authorities concerned. It is therefore only proper that an appropriate measurement is taken with regard to the properties, namely, the registered holdings of the petitioner with reference to the documents relied on; namely properties covered by Exhibit P1, P1(A) and P1(B) and the Thandaper Account. Tahsildar will ensure proper steps to be taken for conducting a proper measurement, then file a report to this court within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. Interim Order is extended by one month”. 8. Pursuant to the order dated 21/1/2010, the property was measured by a team of Surveyors headed by the District Survey Superintendent. A report dated nil is produced along with the memo dated 25/3/2010 filed by the Senior Government W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 7 Pleader. I have perused the report along with the copy of the plan produced and also the documents of title and Exhibit P2. In the report, it is stated that the petitioner was in possession of 46.84 Ares of land as per the resurvey records and the Tandaper records. It is further stated that the extent covered by the two sale deeds executed by him assigning an extent of 12.14 Ares of land and 1.21 Ares of land, would have an extent only 7.16 Ares as per the resurvey records. The land, which was sold by the petitioner, is admittedly situated on the south-eastern corner of the property. If that is so, the reduction in the extent of the land sold by the petitioner to his wife would not take in any puramboke land. In the plan, the puramboke land is marked as having an extent of 5 Ares. On the south of it, properties of the petitioner and his wife Safiyath Beevi are shown. It is shown that the total extent of the same would be 54 Ares. There is no case for anybody that the extent of the property is 54 Ares. Even going by the report filed by the Tahsildar, the total extent of the land, after deducting the land transferred, would be 46. 84 ares. 9. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 8 the mistake was committed in the following way: Exhibit P2 shows an extent of 7.44 Ares of Purayidam in Survey Nos.5922/1,4. According to the petitioner, this land is situated two kilometres away from the disputed land. This statement is not disputed by the respondents. Even otherwise, there cannot be any case of 54 Ares being marked as the property in possession of the petitioner, the puramboke land having been marked on the north of it taking in 5 cents. Going by Exhibit P2, after the execution of the sale deeds in favour of the petitioner's wife, the petitioner was holding an extent of 46.84 Ares of land. That is not marked in the plan produced along with the reports. The total extent of 60.19 Ares is also not identified and located. The various extents covered by the title deeds with reference to the boundaries and extents are also not marked in the plan. 10. The above discussion would lead me to the conclusion that all the orders passed, namely, Exhibits P3,P8 and P11 are against law, without comprehending the facts of the case and without getting the correct data. It is also clear that the report submitted by the Tahsildar is not in consonance with the order W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 9 passed by this Court and it is contrary to the relevant records and Exhibit P2 Tandaper records. Obviously, there are mistakes in the report and in the plan produced along with the report. The survey team has not undertaken the work, as directed in the order dated 21/1/2010 passed by this Court. 11.From Exhibit P3, it is seen that it was issued in Form (C), which relates to Rule 11 of the Kerala Land Conservancy Rules. Rule 11 reads as follows: 11. The final order of the Collector shall be in writing in his own hand, and shall contain the reasons for the decision. The decision shall be communicated to the party in writing and simultaneously a notice in Form 'C' appended to these rules shall be served on him requiring him to vacate the land within specified period. The notice shall also contain a direction that every thing, found on the land encroached upon shall be forfeited to the Government in the event of the encroacher failing to vacate the land within that period specified. 12. Exhibit P3 does not show any reason for such a decision. No separate order is appended to Form (C) notice. From a perusal of the various orders passed and Exhibit P3 notice, it would appear that the primary authority had initiated the proceedings under Section 11 of the Land Conservancy Act. W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 10 Section 11 reads as follows: 11. Liability of unauthorised occupant to summary eviction, forfeiture of crops etc.- (1) Any person unauthorisedly occupying any land for which he is liable to pay a fine under Section 7 and an assessment or prohibitory assessment under Section 8 may be summarily evicted by the Collector, and any crop or other product raised on the land shall be liable to forfeiture, and any building or structure erected or anything deposited thereon shall also if not removed by him after such written notice as the Collector may deem reasonable, be liable to forfeiture. Forfeiture under this section shall be adjudged by the Collector and any property so forfeited shall be disposed of as the Collector may direct. (2).Mode of eviction- An eviction under this section shall be made in the following manner, namely:- By serving a notice on a person reputed to be in occupation or his agent requiring him within such time as the Collector may deem reasonable after receipt of the said notice to vacate the land, and if such notice is not obeyed, by removing or deputing a subordinate to remove any person who may refuse to vacate the same, and, if the officer removing any such person shall be resisted or obstructed by any person, the Collector shall hold a summary into the facts of the case, and, if satisfied that the resistance or obstruction still continues, may issue a warrant for the arrest of the said person, and on his appearance may send him with a warrant in the Form of the Schedule for imprisonment in the Civil Jail of the district for such period not exceeding 30 days as may be necessary to prevent the continuance of such obstruction or resistance: W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 11 Provided that no person so committed or imprisoned under this section shall be liable to be prosecuted under Section 183, 186 and 188 of the Indian Penal Code in respect of the same facts. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) where the Collector is of opinion in any case failing under sub- section (1) that it is expedient in the public interest to take urgent action without following the procedure laid down in sub- section (2) he may, after recording his reasons for so doing, issue a notice to the person in occupation calling upon him to vacate the land within such period as may be specified in the notice, and if the land is not vacated within the said period, any officer authorised by the Collector may enter upon the land and take possession of the same, if necessary by using such force as the circumstances may justify. 13. The proceedings under Section 12 of the Land Conservancy Act is quite different. A prior notice is required and order should be passed after hearing the parties affected. For the sake of convenience, Section 12 is quoted below: 12.Prior notice to occupant etc.- The Collector shall, before passing an order under this Act, give notice to the occupant or other person likely to be affected by the order, and record any statement which such occupant or person may make and any evidence which he may adduce within a reasonable time, and all orders passed by the Collector under this Act shall be in writing and under his hand: Provided that no such notice shall be necessary- W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 12 (i) When the Collector takes action under sub-section (3) of Section 11; or (ii) in the case of any person unauthorisedly occupying any land which is the property of Government, if, within a period of two years prior to the date of such occupation, he had been evicted from such land under Section 11 or had vacated such land voluntarily after the receipt of a notice under this section or Section 11. The Collector may require any subordinate officer not below the rank of Deputy Tahsildar or any other officer authorised by the Government in this behalf to hold the enquiry as prescribed in the preceding paragraph and submit the record to him; and on such record the Collector may pass orders. For the purpose of Section 199 of the Indian Penal Code the proceedings taken by the Collector under this section shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings. 14. As already stated, in the case on hand, it is apparent that the jurisdiction under Section 11 was exercised by the primary authority. On what basis the conclusion was arrived at and what is the reason to hold that the petitioner has encroached upon 5 Ares of puramboke land etc. are not mentioned in Exhibit P3. When coming to Exhibits P8 and P11, the extent of land allegedly encroached was reduced as 4.60 Ares. What was the reason for the reduction is not clear. The appellate authority as well as the revisional authority were under the erroneous W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 13 impression that the petitioner was aggrieved by the reduction of 0.28 Ares of land during resurvey. Even if an extent of 0.28 Ares of land is deducted from his total holding as mentioned in Exhibit P2, the finding that the petitioner has encroached upon 4.60 Ares of puramboke land cannot be sustained, if Exhibits P1 and P2 are accepted as correct. 15. For the aforesaid reasons, I am of the view that Exhibits P3, P8 and P11 are liable to be quashed. They are accordingly quashed. As the petitioner was dispossessed as per Exhibit P3 and the status quo as on today is that the property in dispute is in the possession of the Government, there is no reason why that status quo should be disturbed for the time being. 16. It is necessary to consider the matter afresh. For that purpose, the Tahsildar shall dispose of the matter afresh after affording an opportunity of being heard to the petitioner and the affected parties. The Writ Petition, counter affidavit, reply affidavits and report submitted by the Tahsildar with the plan attached to it, all shall form part of the record to be considered by the Tahsildar. As stated earlier, the report submitted by the W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 14 Tahsildar before this Court and the plan produced along with the same cannot be relied on as such as there are obvious mistakes. It is necessary to identify the property belonging to the petitioner as per Exhibits P1 and P2 and also the sale deeds executed by him as per Exhibits P1(a) and P1(b). It is also necessary to identify the puramboke land, if any, to ascertain whether the case of the petitioner that no such puramboke land is in existence on the northern side of his property is true. The Tahsildar shall also take note of the boundaries of the property, the age of the same and all the relevant facts. The Tahsildar shall pass appropriate fresh orders in the light of the observations made above and after affording an opportunity of being heard to the petitioner and the affected parties and after identifying the property as aforesaid. The Tahsildar shall dispose of the matter as expeditiously as possible and at any rate within a period of six months from today. The petitioner shall produce before the Tahsildar, a copy of the judgment, copy of the Writ Petition (with exhibits), copy of the counter affidavit and reply affidavits dated 5/10/2009 and W.P(C). No. 14380/2009 15 5/4/2010 (with exhibits) and a copy of the memo dated 25/3/2010 submitted by the Senior Government Pleader and the report and plan produced along with the memo, within three weeks from today. K.T. SANKARAN, JUDGE scm