THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Additional District and Sessions Court here has quashed an individual’s ownership rights over 23 cents of government land, which is valued at several crores, near Kudappanakunnu. The ownership of the land was in the name of Daniel Lazar and his wife Shoshamma.
The Additional Munsiff Court had earlier granted the couple ownership rights over the land. Government pleader M Salahudeen, who appeared for the state government, cited Supreme Court verdicts which said the government land belonged to the public and the court and the government servants were responsible for protecting it. He argued that corrupt officials had conspired and fabricated documents thus enabling the private individual to get a favourable verdict from the Munsif court.
Thiruvananthapuram corporation counsel Cherunniyoor C S Vijayachandran Nair said the corporation was not made a party when the individual had filed the case in the Munsif court. The district court also ruled that the will deed that does not stand legal scrutiny was produced before the Munsif court as document. The couple had owned 1.55 acres, and on re-survey it was found that 23 cents was ‘purambokku’ land.
Though Daniel approached the district survey authority for getting ownership over ‘purambokku’ land, his application was rejected in 2008. However, the re-survey officers illegally created another file with the same application and gave the couple ‘pattayam’ for the 23 cents.
The irregularity came to light following an inspection of the district survey office by Biju Prabhakar, who was then the survey vigilance director.