AMBUJAKSHI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal was preferred against the common order in OA 271/74, 272/74, 273/74 and 274/74 which were disposed of by the Tribunal on 15.12.1989 rejecting the applications preferred under S.8 of Act 26/71.

(2.) All the above mentioned applications were earlier dismissed by a common order dated 22.8.1977. Aggrieved by those orders MFA, 326, 386, 387 and 388 of 1977 were preferred by the applicants before this Court. A Division Bench of this Court set aside the orders passed by the Tribunal and remanded the matter back to the Tribunal to consider the matter afresh and dispose of those cases in accordance with law. There is some controversy with regard to the scope of the remand order. We may extract the relevant portions of the remand order to resolve that controversy:

(3.) With regard to the third issue whether the petitioners were holding lands within the ceiling limit Tribunal held that the applicants had failed to establish that they are holding lands within the ceiling area. Counsel submitted the question as to whether applicants had got land in excess of the ceiling area is a matter to be adjudicated by the Taluk Land Board. Counsel submitted earlier Taluk Land Board had passed an order on 15.12.1989 holding that the applicants had held land in excess of the ceiling limit and that order was challenged in CRP 1013, 1166, 1168 and 1185 of 1998 and this Court vide order dated 9.12.1998 disposed of those civil revision petitions setting aside the order of the Taluk Land Board and the matter was remitted back to the Taluk Land Board for fresh consideration. Subsequently Taluk Land Board has passed a revised order dated 26.7.2000 holding that the applicants in O.A. 271, 272 and 273 of 1974 were having land in excess of the ceiling limit. As far as applicant in O.A. 274/74 is concerned it was held that he has no excess land. Counsel submitted against the decision in O.A. 274/74 no revision petition was filed by the State. Counsel submitted against the order holding that some of the applicants had got lands exceeding ceiling limit, CRP 2003, 2004 and 2005 of 2000 were preferred by them and those revision petitions are pending before this Court.