IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.N.KRISHNAN MONDAY, THE 17TH JANUARY 2011 / 27TH POUSHA 1932 CRP.No. 1069 of 2007() ---------------------------- SM.2/1984 of TALUK LAND BOARD, PONNANI .................... PETITIONERS IN CRP/DECLARANTS BEFORE LAND BOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. PARVATHI ANTHARJANAM, W/O.VASUDEVAN, SOMAYAJIPAD OF NARAYANA MANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPALL 2. AKKIRAMAN NAMBOODIRI @ AGNISARMAN NAMBOODIRI AGED 61, S/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD OF NARAYANAMANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. 3. ITTIRAVI NAMBOODIRI @ RAVINDRAN NAMBOODIRI, AGED 56, S/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD OF NARAYANAMANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. 4. VASUDEVAN UNNI @ VASUDEVAN NAMBOODIRI, AGED 53, S/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD OF NARAYANA MANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. 5. PARAMESWARAN UNNI @ PARAMESWARAN NAMBOODIRI, S/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD, NARAYANA MANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. 6. NARAYANAN NAMBOODIRI, S/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD, NARAYANA MANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. svs ........2/-.... ...2... 7. DEVAKI ANTHARJANAM, AGED 63, D/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD, NARAYANA MANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPALL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. 8. UNNIKKALI @ INDIRA ANTHARJANAM, D/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD, NARAYANA MANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. 9. PARVATHY ANTHARJANAM, D/O.LATE VASUDEVAN SOMAYAJIPAD, NARAYANA MANGALATHU MANA, EDAPPAL VILLAGE, PONNANI TALUK, P.O.EDAPPAL. BY ADVS. SRI.V.SANKARA RAJA SRI.M.A.SUNILKUMAR RESPONDENT(S): -------------------- 1. THE TALUK LAND BOARD, PONNANI, REPRESENTED BY THE CHAIRMAN, DEPUTY COLLECTOR (LR), MALAPPURAM. 2. THE TAHSILDAR, PONNANI TALUK. 3. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF KERALA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. R1 BY GOVT. PLEADER SRI.M.L.SAJEEVAN THIS CIVIL REVISION PETITION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 17/01/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: svs M.N. KRISHNAN,J. ........................................... C.R.P.NO.1069 OF 2007 ............................................. Dated this the 17th day of January, 2011. O R D E R This revision is preferred against the order of the Taluk Land Board, Ponnani in SM2/84/B1. The Taluk Land Board by its order dated 31.10.2007 directed the declarants to surrender 10.20 acres of land and it is against that order the present revision is filed. 2. A perusal of the first order of the Taluk Land Board dated 19.1.1996 would reveal that there are 10 members in a family of which 3 persons have become majors or adult persons. So there were 5 children and the husband and wife. The total land held by the joint family is 26.39 acres, out of which 3.19 acres are to be excluded and therefore, the ceiling area was taken as 23.20 acres, out of which 13 acres were allowed to be retained and a direction was given to surrender 10.20 acres of land. 3. The principal contention argued by the learned counsel is on the basis of a Full Bench decision of this Court reported in Ramanatha Reddiar v. Taluk Land Board : 2 : C.R.P.NO.1069 OF 2007 (1985 KLT 412). As per the definition of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 'Person' includes joint family as well. Suppose the present case is taken into consideration, joint family consists of 3 adult persons, who are entitled to hold lands independently under Section 82(1)(a) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act. The Hon'ble Judges in the Full Bench judgment had considered the impact when joint family is taken into consideration. In para-3 of the judgment the learned Judges held that: “'Person' as defined in S.2(43) of the Act shall include “a company, family, joint family, association or other body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, and any institution capable of holding property”. While fixing the ceiling area in respect of any other person in cl.(d) of S.82, care is taken to ensure that the ceiling area fixed in respect of any other person is not applicable, though joint family also is included in the term 'person' as defined in S.2(43) of the Act. It would, therefore, be reasonable to hold that the ceiling area with respect to the joint family referred to in clause (d) of S.82(1) is the aggregate of the area for the statutory family (or families), adult unmarried person (or persons) or such of them as existed in the joint family. In this case, we are told that the joint family of the revision petitioners consisted of the husband, the wife and an adult unmarried person. In that case, the total extent of land, which the joint family is : 3 : C.R.P.NO.1069 OF 2007 entitled to hold would be what an adult unmarried person is entitled to hold under clause (a) and what the family consisting of two (husband and wife) is entitled to hold in terms of clause (b) of the sub-section, viz., 5 standard acres and 10 standard acres”. 4. Applying this principle to the facts of the present case, joint family to the declarants consist of 3 adult persons and one family consisting of husband, wife and 5 unmarried minor children. So virtually there are 4 families in the joint family i.e., 3 adult persons entitled to hold 3x6 acres and one family is entitled to hold minimum of 12 acres which means the total ceiling area applicable to the joint family would be 30 acres. As the land involved in this case is only 26.39 acres inclusive of the exempted land, the joint family does not hold any excess land. 5. Therefore the revision petition is allowed and it is declared that the declarants are not liable to surrender any land as their joint family does not hold any land in excess of the ceiling area. The revision petition is thus allowed. M.N. KRISHNAN, JUDGE. cl : 4 : C.R.P.NO.1069 OF 2007