M.RAJESHKUMAR Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has approached this Court impugning Ext.P5 order issued by the District Collector, Ernakulam under the provisions of Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order ("KLU Order" for short), to the extent to which only 5 cents out of 10.82 ares owned by him, has been granted permission to be used for other purposes other than paddy cultivation.

(2.) The petitioner says that there is nothing in Ext.P5 to indicate why the District Collector confined the benefit of Clause 6 of the KLU Order to only 5 cents of land and not to the entire 10.82 ares, and says that this is contrary to the judgments of this Court in Suresh Kumar v. Revenue Divisional Officer [2016 (1) KLT 56] and Shivadasan v. Revenue Divisional Officer [2017 (3) KLT 822], wherein the Government Circular dated 22.12.2016 enforcing such restrictions have already been found to be illegal.

(3.) The learned Government Pleader - Smt.Pooja Surendran, initially sought time to file counter pleadings on record, but submitted that there is nothing wrong in Ext.P5, since the petitioner has been granted permission to use 5 cents of his property for the purpose of construction of a residential building, which is what is expected in an application under Clause 6 of the KLU Order, particularly when the petitioner had approached the said authority for making only such a construction. She, therefore, asserts that Ext.P5 is irreproachable and prays that this writ petition be dismissed.