High Court of KeralaSingle Judge2023-08-01Writ petition allowed; directive to entertain E...

P. Unnikrishnan Menon v. Revenue Divisional Officer, Palakkad

Case / Petition Number:WP(C) No. 25017 of 2023

Case Details & Bench

Court: High Court of Kerala
Hon'ble Judges: N. Nagareesh
Judgment Date: 2023-08-01
Court Decision / Holding: Writ petition allowed. The 2nd respondent (Additional Tahsildar) is directed to consider Exts. P7 and P8 Form-A applications and pass appropriate orders under law within one month.
Final Disposition: Writ petition allowed; directive to entertain Exts. P7 and P8 within one month and pass orders accordingly.

Parties to the Case

Appellants / Petitioners

P. Unnikrishnan Menon, aged 64 years, S/O N.J. Nair, 13/595, Govardhanam, Malampuzha 100 Feet Road, Palakkad Head Post Office, Palakkad District – 678001

Respondents

The Revenue Divisional Officer Palakkad, Office of the Revenue Divisional Officer Palakkad, Palakkad Head Post Office, Palakkad District
The Additional Tahsildar (Land Records), Taluk Office, Civil Station, Palakkad Head Post Office, Palakkad District
The Village Officer Palakkad II Village, Palakkad Head Post Office, Palakkad District

Legal Representation & Advocates

Counsels for Petitioners

• Jacob Sebastian
• Winston K.V.
• Anu Jacob

Counsels for Respondents

• Deepa N., Government Pleader

Case Synopsis & Summary

The petitioner, P. Unnikrishnan Menon, challenges the omission of the second respondent, the Additional Tahsildar (Land Records), from entertaining his representations for reassessment of Basic Tax under the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961, after obtaining enabling orders under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 permitting non-agricultural use for his land in Palakkad. He owns 18.88 acres in Palakkad-II Village, Palakkad Taluk, and sought reassessment in light of Exts. P2, P5 and P6—KLUO 1967 orders issued in 2005 and 2006 that permitted conversion of the land for non-farm use. Although those orders exist, the Basic Tax Register still describes the land as Nilam/Paddy land, and Exts. P7 and P8 (Form-A) were filed under Section 6(3) of the Kerala Land Tax Act seeking re-assessment and corrected entries. The Tahsildar did not pass orders, and the petitioner approached the High Court. The Senior Government Pleader argued that the validity and current veracity of Exts. P2, P5 and P6 must be verified and the land’s current status ascertained before re-assessment. The court, citing Mary Abraham v. State of Kerala and District Collector v. Fr. Jose Uppani, held that once an enabling order under Rule 6(2) is issued, earlier classifications become superfluous and fresh assessment under Section 6A is required, subject to verification. The writ petition is allowed, directing the Tahsildar to consider Exts. P7 and P8 within one month and issue orders accordingly, after validating the encumbrances and status of the land.

Provisions of Law Cited

Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967Rule 6(2) of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967Section 6(3) of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961Section 6A of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008Section 27A of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008

Legal Doctrines & Maxims

Enabling order under Rule 6(2) of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 renders previous entries in the Basic Tax Register superfluous; competent authorities must re-assess under Section 6A upon verification of permission (Mary Abraham v. State of Kerala).
When land-use status changes due to statutory orders, revenue officials are bound to consider reassessment under the Kerala Land Tax Act (as clarified in District Collector, Ernakulam v. Fr. Jose Uppani).

Submissions & Arguments

Contentions of Appellants / Petitioners

The petitioner contends that after obtaining enabling orders under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 (KLUO) permitting non-agricultural use, the land must be re-assessed for Basic Tax and corrected in the Basic Tax Register; Exts. P2, P5, P6 establish this use, and Exts. P7 and P8 (Form-A) under Section 6(3) of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961 should be entertained. The petitioner seeks a direction to the 2nd respondent to process these applications.

Contentions of Respondents

The respondents argue that the authenticity of Exts. P2, P5, P6 needs verification given their 2005-2006 dates; current land status must be ascertained before any reassessment under the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961; thus, no orders should be passed without verification.

Cited Precedents (3)

Case Name	Citation	Treatment	Explanation
Mary Abraham v. State of Kerala and others	2020 (4) KLT 448	Positive	Court relied on this decision to hold that enabling orders under Rule 6(2) necessitate re-assessment under Section 6A and make earlier BTR entries redundant.
District Collector, Ernakulam and others v. Fr.Jose Uppani and others	2020 (4) KLT 612	Positive	Division Bench held that where orders under KLUO were obtained before the cut-off date for Section 27A, subsequent applications under the Kerala Land Tax Act must be considered.
W.P.(C) No.26007/2020	Judgment dated 16.12.2020	Mentioned Only	Exhibit-P9 cites this judgment; it is referenced but not discussed in detail in the text.

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Extracted Judgment Text

Exact text extracted from official judgment records.

## **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** ## **PRESENT** ## **THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.NAGARESH** **TUESDAY, THE 1[ST] DAY OF AUGUST 2023 / 10TH SRAVANA, 1945 WP(C) NO. 25017 OF 2023** ## **PETITIONER:** **P. UNNIKRISHNA MENON AGED 64 YEARS, S/O. N.J NAIR, 13/595, "GOVARDHANAM", MALAMPUZHA 100 FEET ROAD, PALAKKAD HEAD POST OFFICE, PALAKKAD DISTRICT – 678001.** **BY ADVS. JACOB SEBASTIAN WINSTON K.V ANU JACOB** ## **RESPONDENTS:** - **1 THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER PALAKKAD OFFICE OF THE REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER PALAKKAD, PALAKKAD HEAD POST OFFICE, PALAKKAD DISTRICT., PIN – 678001.** - **2 THE ADDITIONAL TAHSILDAR (LAND RECORDS), TALUK OFFICE, CIVIL STATION, PALAKKAD HEAD POST OFFICE, PALAKKAD DISTRICT., PIN – 678001.** - **3 THE VILLAGE OFFICER PALAKKAD II VILLAGE, PALAKKAD HEAD POST OFFICE, PALAKKAD DISTRICT – 678001.** **BY ADV.DEEPA N, GOVERNMENT PLEADER** **THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 01.08.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:** **W.P.(C) No.25017 of 2023** 2 ## **J U D G M E N T** Dated this the 1[st] day of August, 2023 The petitioner is before this Court aggrieved by the omission of the 2[nd] respondent-Additional Tahsildar in entertaining a representation submitted by the petitioner for re-assessment of rate of Basic Tax of land and for making necessary entries in the Basic Tax Register. 2. The petitioner is owner of 18.88 Ares of property in Survey Block No.2/35, Survey No.1477/1C (Now in Block No.235 and Survey No.1477/26 and 27) of Palakkad-II Village, Palakkad Taluk in Palakkad District. The petitioner approached the Revenue Divisional Officer invoking the provisions of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 seeking to permit to use the land for nonagricultural purposes. The Revenue Divisional Officer passed Exts.P2, P5 and P6 orders under Clause 6 of the Kerala Land **W.P.(C) No.25017 of 2023** **==> picture [7 x 9] intentionally omitted <==** Utilisation Order, 1967 permitting to use the land for nonagricultural purposes. 3. The grievance of the petitioner is that even though Exts.P2, P5 and P6 orders were passed under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 in the years 2005 and 2006, the land of the petitioner is not re-assessed for fixing rate of Basic Tax and the property of the petitioner is still described as paddy land in the Revenue records. The petitioner submitted Exts.P7 and P8 applications invoking Section 6(3) of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961 seeking to re-assess the Basic Tax and to make necessary entries in the Basic Tax Register. The Tahsildar, however, has not passed any orders on the applications. Hence, the petitioner has approached this Court. 4. The Senior Government Pleader entered appearance on behalf of the respondents and resisted the writ petition. The Senior Government Pleader controverted all the material 4 ## **W.P.(C) No.25017 of 2023** allegations made by the petitioner in the writ petition. It is submitted that as Exts.P2, P5 and P6 proceedings are of the years 2005 and 2006. The veracity and the genuineness of Exts.P2, P5 and P6 proceedings under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 are liable to be verified. The present status of the land will also have to be ascertained, before re-assessment of Basic Tax under the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961. 5. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Senior Government Pleader representing the respondents. 6. This Court has considered the issue of reassessment of land tax on the basis of the orders obtained under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 in the judgment in **Mary Abraham v. State of Kerala and others** [2020 (4) KLT 448]. This Court held that once enabling order is passed under Rule 6(2) of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 permitting conversion of the land, then the 5 **W.P.(C) No.25017 of 2023** earlier entries in the BTR showing the land as Nilam, Paddy Land, etc. will become superfluous and redundant and the competent Revenue officials like the Tahsildar are obliged under law to make a fresh assessment of the property under Section 6A of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961. 7. A Division Bench of this Court also considered the issue in **District Collector, Ernakulam and others v. Fr.Jose Uppani and others** [2020 (4) KLT 612] and the Division Bench held that when an applicant has secured orders under the Kerala Land Utiliation Order prior to the cut-off date on which Section 27A was introduced to the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, the competent Revenue officials are bound to consider the subsequent applications submitted under the provisions of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961. 8. As the nature of the land of the petitioner has been permitted to be changed pursuant to passing of a statutory order 6 ## **W.P.(C) No.25017 of 2023** under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, the competent authority is bound to re-assess the rate of Basic Tax in respect of the land and to make necessary entries in the Basic Tax Register, if necessary, after verifying the veracity/genuineness of the permission obtained under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 produced by the petitioner. The writ petition is therefore allowed. The 2[nd] respondentAdditional Tahsildar is directed to consider Exts.P7 and P8 Form-A applications submitted by the petitioner, in accordance with law, and pass appropriate orders thereon within a period of one month. Sd/- **N. NAGARESH JUDGE** ams **W.P.(C) No.25017 of 2023** 7 ## **APPENDIX OF WP(C) 25017/2023** **PETITIONER EXHIBITS Exhibit-P1 A TRUE COPY OF LAND TAX PAID RECEIPT NUMBER KL09052307540/2023 OF THE ABOVE LAND ISSUED BY THE THIRD RESPONDENT ON 19.07.2023. Exhibit-P2 A TRUE COPY OF THE KLU ORDER DATED 09.11.2006 ISSUED BY THE FIRST RESPONDENT. Exhibit-P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE SALE DEED NO.1695/2021 OF SRO, OLAVAKODE EXECUTED BY C.A PREETHA ON 14.09.2021. Exhibit-P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE SALE DEED NO.1696/2021 OF SRO, OLAVAKODE EXECUTED BY GEETHA.A ON 14.09.2021. Exhibit-P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE KLU ORDER NO. D.DIS.M 1278/03 DATED 24.08.2005 ISSUED BY THE FIRST RESPONDENT. Exhibit-P6 A TRUE COPY OF THE KLU ORDER NO.D.DIS.M.S.R 1279/03 DATED 24.08.2005 ISSUED BY THE FIRST RESPONDENT. Exhibit-P7 A TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION DATED 21.07.2023 SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER IN RESPECT OF THE LAND COVERED IN EXTS.P2 BEFORE THE SECOND RESPONDENT ALONG WITH RECEIPT NO.572533/2023-F6 ISSUED FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SECOND RESPONDENT DATED 21.07.2023. Exhibit-P8 A TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION DATED 21.07.2023 SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER IN RESPECT OF THE LAND COVERED IN EXTS.P5 & P6 BEFORE THE SECOND RESPONDENT ALONG WITH RECEIPT NO.572532/2023-F6 ISSUED FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SECOND RESPONDENT DATED 21.07.2023.** **W.P.(C) No.25017 of 2023** 8 **Exhibit-P9** **A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 16.12.2020 IN W.P.(C) NO.26007/2020 OF THIS HON'BLE COURT.**