The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the government order directing the Kottayam District Collector to acquire the Cheruvally estate for the proposed greenfield Sabarimala airport.
Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar passed the stay order on a petition filed by Ayana Charitable Trust (formerly known as Gospel for Asia), Thiruvalla, and a managing trustee challenging the government order. The Collector had been directed by the government to take over the land without paying the compensation directly to the trust and instead to deposit it in a civil court.
The property, spread over 2,263 acres across the Erumeli south and Manimala villages, was sold to the Gospel of Asia by Harrisons Malayalam Limited (HML) in 2005. The deal, however, landed in trouble after M.G. Rajamanickam, as a special officer of the State government, issued an order on May 28, 2015, attaching around 38,000 acres of land in possession or transferred by HML, including the Cheruvally estate, after declaring it as revenue land.
The petitioners pointed out that a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court had quashed the order of the special officer initiating land conservancy proceedings. After that, the government had filed a civil suit seeking to declare its title over the estate and for recovery of possession.
The petitioners contended that the government had no authority to issue a directive to the Collector to acquire the land. The order amounted to exercise of judicial power by the government. The petitioners asked how the government which disputed the title over the property could direct the Collector to deposit the compensation amount before the court.
The government order was a violation of Section 300 (constitutional right to property). Besides, no social impact assessment study had been done before acquiring land as contemplated under chapter II of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The order was issued with mala fide intention and amounted to colourable exercise of power, the petitioners contended.
