Case Law Details
K.R Santhosh Vs Revenue Divisional Collectorate (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court held that as the nature of the land of the petitioner has been permitted to be changed pursuant to passing of a statutory order under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, the competent authority is bound to re-assess the rate of Basic Tax in respect of the land
Facts- The petitioner is owner of 0.1817 Hectare of property in Old Survey No.59/PT4 of Chiyyaram Village in Thrissur District. The property in question was purchased in the year 1997. The predecessor-in-interest of the land approached the 1st respondent-Revenue Divisional Officer invoking the provisions of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 seeking to permit him to use the land for non-agricultural purposes. The Revenue Divisional Officer passed Ext.P3 order under Clause 6 of the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 permitting to use the land for non-agricultural purposes.
The grievance of the petitioner is that even though P3 order was passed under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 in the year 1996, the land is not re-assessed for fixing rate of Basic Tax and the property of the petitioner is still described as paddy land in the Revenue records. The petitioner submitted application invoking Section 6(3) of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961 seeking to re-assess the Basic Tax and to make necessary entries in the Basic Tax Register. The Tahsildar, however, has not passed any orders on the application. Hence, the petitioner has approached this Court.
Conclusion- As the nature of the land of the petitioner has been permitted to be changed pursuant to passing of a statutory order under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967, the competent authority is bound to re-assess the rate of Basic Tax in respect of the land and to make necessary entries in the Basic Tax Register, if necessary, after verifying the veracity/genuineness of the permission obtained under the Kerala Land Utilisation Order, 1967 produced by the petitioner.
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