HC gives state final chance to file counter in land allotment case
THE Kerala High Court on Thursday granted the state government a final two weeks to file its counter affidavit in a public interest litigation challenging the 1977 allotment of Kerala University land for the construction of the AKG Centre for Research and Studies in the state capital.
The building, until last year, housed the CPI-M's state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. was hearing the plea filed by a former Joint Registrar of Kerala University, who has questioned both the legality of the original land assignment and the extent of land currently in the party’s possession.
When the matter was taken up, the Special Government Pleader sought additional time to trace the government order issued in 1977, during the tenure of then Chief Minister A.K. Antony, under which the land was allotted.
The court was informed that the order has not been traceable in the records of the Village Office, the District Collectorate or the Department of Archaeology.
The petitioner has alleged that while the government order purportedly sanctioned only 15 cents of land, the AKG Centre and the CPI-M have around 55 cents, including portions allegedly belonging to Kerala University as well as government puramboke land.
Chief Justice Sen, noting that time had already been granted earlier, orally remarked: “How much time? And the last time. I mean the last chance.”
The Bench, however, allowed the State’s request for two additional weeks and posted the matter for hearing after three weeks.
The land in question houses the multi-storeyed AKG Centre complex, which accommodated the CPI-M's state party headquarters, offices of senior leaders and a spacious air-conditioned auditorium used for key party meetings.
The issue has been simmering for some time and gained renewed attention last year when the Kerala unit of the CPI-M inaugurated a new state-of-the-art building adjacent to the existing AKG Centre premises and shifted the party office there.
