The petitioner has submitted an application for the issue of a building permit. The application has been acknowledged receipt of by Ext.P6. The endorsement in Ext.P6 shows that the same was received on 19.02.2014. Orders should have been passed on the said application within a period of one month from the said date. The petitioner complains that, his application has not been considered till date.
2. Adv.Smt.M.A.Vaheeda Babu appears for the Panchayat.
According to the counsel, the property has been described as paddy field in the Revenue records. Therefore, the matter was referred to the Local Level Monitoring Committee. The Committee has sought for the opinion of the Village Officer. It is stated that, the opinion has not yet been received.
3. Heard. The 2nd respondent is the statutorily empowered authority to consider the application for building permit and to pass appropriate orders thereon. It has been held by this Court in Shahanaz Shukkoor v. Chelannur Grama Panchayat [2009(3) KLT 899] and Praveen v. Land Revenue Commissioner [2010(2) KLT 617] that, it is not the description of a land in the Revenue records that is decisive, but the actual physical condition of the land. It has also W.P.(C) No.26288 of 2014 2 been held by this Court that, Act 28 of 2008 does not have any retrospective operation. Therefore, the provisions thereof have no application to lands that have ceased to be paddy fields, as on the date of coming into force of the said enactments. The above being the position of law, it is incumbent on the 2nd respondent to conduct an inspection of the petitioner's property to ascertain its present condition and to pass appropriate orders on the application for building permit submitted by him, in accordance with law.
This writ petition is therefore, disposed of directing the 2nd respondent to conduct an inspection of the petitioner's property, to ascertain its present physical condition and whether the same was converted prior to the coming into force of Act 28 of 2008 and thereafter, to pass appropriate orders on the application, in accordance with law. Orders as indicated above shall be issued as expeditiously as possible and at any rate within a period of one month of the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment.
Sd/-
K.SURENDRA MOHAN, JUDGE.
AV