STATE OF KERALA Vs. ARVIRAH POULOSE DEAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The short question of law that arises for consideration in this appeal directed against judgment and order of the Kerala High court, is, if voluntary transfers by a declarant, prohibited under Section 84 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act (for brief the Act) are to be ignored and land covered by it is to be taken to belong to declarant or have to be taken into account only after determination of the ceiling area on material date for purposes of addition only that area from the voluntary transfers which was found in excess of the ceiling area notified under Section 83 of the Act.

(2.) Relevant facts necessary for determination of the legal issue as found by the High court were that on June 1, ] 970 the material date for determining ceiling area in the State of Kerala the declarant's family was possessed of 20. 46 acres. Out of this 8 acres was exempted land since celling limit was 12 acres the declarant was found to have 00. 46 cents as surplus. Against this determination the declarant approached the High court which held that the Land Board in treating the entire transaction as invalid and including it as land held by the declarant's family acted in disregard of the ratio of the full bench decision in Kesven Nambooderi v. State of Kerala that such transactions were valid to the extent to which they were within ceiling limit.

(3.) Having explained the legal position the High court first determined the total area held by the declarant on 1/06/1970 to be the total area minus the area which was transferred between 1963 to 1970. Since the declarant had only 20. 46 acres of which nearly 14 acres had been transferred he was possessed of 7 acres only. In respect of transfers the court held that ceiling area being 12 acres the transaction was valid to that extent and invalid to the extent of 2 acres. The two figures thus arrived at, that is, 7 acres and 2 acres were added together and as it did not exceed 12 acres the declaration was held to be possessed of no surplus land.