K.B. ROHINI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 38012 of 2003 is the appellant herein, aggrieved by the judgment dated 10.3.2015 of the learned single Judge in the writ petition. The brief facts that led to the filing of the writ petition, are as follows:

(2.) The late husband of the writ petitioner, K. Kannan, had sought for an assignment of 2.55 acres of land in R.S. No. 170/1b of Kasaragod Village claiming Kumki rights over the same for the beneficial enjoyment of the Warg lands owned by him, comprising of 9.41 acres of land in the same survey number. The term 'Kumki land' refers to a peculiar land tenure that obtained in the erstwhile District of South Kanara, before the re-organisation of States in 1956. South Kanara was prior to that a part of the State of Madras as were the lands in the Malabar region of present day Kerala. Kumki lands are usually Government owned waste lands within 100 yards of the lands under independent ownership (referred to as Warg lands) and the owners of Warg lands enjoy certain privileges in respect of Kumki lands. Such privileges include the use of Kumki lands for grazing cattle, cutting and collecting leaves, timber and other forest produce for agricultural and domestic purposes of the Kumkidar i.e. The person who is entitled to enjoy Kumki privileges. These lands are not alienable except with the land to which they are attached. It is on account of these features of Kumki land that the Kerala Land Assignment Rules recognises a preferential claim for assignment of Kumki land to the Kumkidar, subject to overriding public interest.

(3.) The application for assignment submitted by K. Kannan was as early as on 8.6.1964 and is produced as Ext. P1 in the writ petition. It would appear that pending consideration of the application submitted by K. Kannan, steps were taken by the revenue authorities for evicting the family from the said lands in terms of the Kerala Land Conservancy Act, 1957. This led K. Kannan to approach this court through O.P. No. 2509 of 1964 challenging the steps for eviction. By Ext. P2 judgment dated 18.6.1965, this court set aside the steps taken for eviction of Kannan and directed that any further steps under the Kerala Land Conservancy Act, 1957 could be initiated only after consideration of the application preferred by the said Kannan, for assignment of the extent of 2.55 acres of Kumki land.