MUNEESWARAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking the following reliefs:

(2.) Going by the averments in the writ petition, the petitioner belongs to scheduled caste agricultural workers community. The father of the petitioner obtained 5 cents of property in survey No.917 of Kannan Devan Hills Village more than 30 years ago. After constructing a hut, the family of the petitioner has been in residential occupation of the property. After the death of his father, the petitioner reconstructed the house. Ext.P1 certificate of possession dtd. 6/11/1992 was issued to the petitioner by the Village Officer of KDH Village. The house is situated in the limits of Munnar Grama Panchayat and the petitioner was issued with Ext.P2 ownership certificate dtd. 16/6/2016 by the Secretary of the Munnar Grama Panchayat wherein the house number is shown as IX/1558. The petitioner is having Ext.P3 ration card and Ext.P4 Aadhar card at the very same address. The property in the possession of the petitioner is an assignable government land and several assignments have been made in the neighbourhood. The petitioner preferred application for assignment before the 3rd respondent Tahsildar, Devikularm Taluk, on 8/8/2010, which bears the file No.556 of 2010 of the office of the 4th respondent the Special Tahsildar (Land Assignment) to whom it was later transferred. Since no action was followed even after submitting several applications for assignment, the petitioner approached this Court with the above writ petition.

(3.) The 5th respondent Special Tahsildar, Munnar, filed a counter affidavit opposing the averments in the writ petition. Paragraphs 3 to 14 of that counter affidavit read thus: