STATE OF KERALA Vs. SHAJI N.T.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent purchased a residential property in 2005, situated in Eloor Village, Paravur Taluk, having an extent of 2.43 Ares. The building in the property had been constructed in 1999 by the respondent's predecessor-in-title. The Panchayat assigned a building number, and the Tahsildar assessed and collected building tax.

(2.) It is undisputed that the land continues to be described as 'Nilam' (paddy land) in the Basic Tax Register (BTR), except for the area occupied by the building; hardly any vacant land remains.

(3.) The respondent approached the Revenue authorities seeking re-assessment of the land as 'purayidom' under the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter "the Act, 1961"). Such re-assessment would have been straightforward but for the legal bar created by Sec. 27A of the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008 (hereinafter "the Paddy Land Act"), which came into force on 30/12/2017.