Kochi, Aug 5 The Kerala High Court on Wednesday quashed an order of the Lakshadweep administration by which pandaram lands were sought to be reclaimed by the government and the occupants were going to be evicted.
Justice T R Ravi quashed the June 27, 2024 order of the Collector of Lakshadweep allowing the government to take over the pandaram lands by paying compensation only for the legal improvements made on the properties, advocate Ajith G Anjarlekar, who represented some of the petitioners, said.
The High Court also directed that the occupants of the pandaram lands be given occupancy certificates within six months, advocate Anjarlekar said.
The detailed judgement is yet to be uploaded.
The High Court verdict was welcomed by Member of Parliament from Lakshadweep, advocate Hamdullah Sayeed, who described it as "a historic decision that upholds the land rights of the people of Lakshadweep and reinforces the constitutional protections guaranteed to them".
"The judgment sends a clear and significant message that any action affecting the lawful rights of the people must be undertaken strictly within the framework of the Constitution and the rule of law," he said in a statement.
The MP also said that the verdict was "a victory for justice, constitutional values, and the rule of law".
The High Court's direction came on nearly two hundred petitions moved by the people, who were going to be evicted by the Lakshadweep administration in order to use their land for developing tourism, challenging the 2024 order of the Collector of Lakshadweep.
The plea, filed by advocate Anjarlekar on behalf of 20 islanders, said that they are members of the Scheduled Tribe and aggrieved by the action on the part of the District Collector to "evict the petitioners and expropriate their properties" without following the procedures contemplated under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
According to the petition, the petitioners' ancestors were granted land on the islands on lease for a period of 40 years in the pre-independence era by the then British government for cultivating coconut trees.
Such lands given on lease were called pandaram lands, and those in possession were termed cowldars, the petition has said.
The cowldars have been carrying out various activities on these pandaram lands for the past 140 years, it has said.
The plea has claimed that while in the past such lands were acquired for public purpose by paying compensation in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act.
However, under the 2024 order of the Collector, compensation was being offered only for the legal improvements made on the properties.
Hence, the petitioners decided to challenge the 2024 order of the Collector in the High Court, the plea has said.
