KARIPPOOR KUNHIMOOSA S/O MOIDEEN Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is concerned with Ext.P14 order passed by the District Collector, Calicut. The District Collector by the said order has directed the Secretary of the Municipality to reconsider the building permit issued to the petitioner since the land on which the construction is intended is a paddy land under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wet Land Act, 2008 (for brevity 'the Paddy Land Act').

(2.) The learned Counsel for the petitioner takes me to Section 13 of the Paddy Land Act, to urge that the District Collector does not have any authority to direct the Secretary of the Municipality to cancel the permit. If such a direction is issued, then necessarily, it would be an interference of the powers conferred on the Secretary of the Municipality under the Municipality Building Rules, 1999 (for brevity 'the Building Rules'). It is also pertinent that by Ext.P9, on a direction issued by this Court, the Secretary had considered the issue and found that there could be no cancellation of the permit. In such circumstance, there is no power conferred on the District Collector to direct cancellation of the permit either as per the Paddy Land Act or as per the Building Rules.

(3.) The learned Government Pleader submits that the District Collector has special powers under Section 18 of the Paddy Land Act and the District Collector only directed cancellation of the permit on the premise that the property, in which the building is coming up is a paddy land covered under the Paddy Land Act. The measures intended at ensuring that paddy lands are not converted and filled up would definitely take in the directions made in the impugned order, is the argument.