A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court challenging the validity of a 1977 government order under which 15 cents of Kerala University's land was allegedly assigned to the AKG Memorial Research Centre at Vanchiyoor in Thiruvananthapuram [RS Sasikumar v State of Kerala & ors]
The petitioner contended that the AKG Memorial Research Centre is not even a recognised research institution of the Kerala University and that the research centre along with the State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] have in possession more than 55 cents of the land, far exceeding the alleged 15 cents as per the order.
The petitioner raised concerns the land, which has been projected as being used for the research centre, is in reality being used for decades as the office and political hub of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), amounting to clear deviation from any public or academic purposes.
The petition filed by RS Sasikumar, a retired Joint Registrar of the Kerala University, was heard on Wednesday by Justice C Jayachandran who observed that the petitioner had no legally recognisable private interest in the subject matter.
The Court said that the petitioner, as a retired employee, could not claim any private interest in matters relating to assignment of university property and any such concern could only be part of a public interest litigation (PIL) since the petitioner himself indicated that the writ petition was public in nature and not aimed at redressing any personal grievance.
"...this Court is of the opinion that this Writ Petition is not maintainable, except as a P.I.L. The contention that the petitioner has a private interest in his capacity as a retired employee of the University is too far-fetched and can hardly be countenanced. A retired employee of a University cannot have any private interest, recognisable in law, insofar as assignment of property of the University is concerned; and his concern, if any, can only partake the character of public interest," the Court said.
Hence, the judge directed that the matter be treated as a PIL and directed the Court's registry to place the case before a bench dealing with PIL petitions.
According to the petition, the 15 cents of land form part of immovable properties vested in the University of Kerala by a notification dated November 20, 1944, issued by the Maharaja of Travancore under the Travancore University Act.
While the notification permitted the government to use the land for public purposes, it did not authorise permanent alienation of university property to third parties, particularly for non-academic or political purposes, the petitioner submitted.
The petitioner also alleged that the government order dated August 20, 1977 under which the land was assigned, is untraceable and despite repeated applications under the Right to Information Act and queries addressed to the Department of Archaeology, revenue authorities, and other statutory offices, no authority has been able to produce a copy of the said government order.
Thus, the petitioner sought directions to evict the alleged unauthorised occupants and to restore the land to Kerala University.
The petitioner also requested the Court to call for records relating to building approvals granted for the constructions on the disputed land along with directions to the state government to produce the original 1977 government order and to quash the same if found.
Senior Counsel George Poonthottam and advocates Nisha George and Akshara Raju appeared for the petitioner.
[Read Order]