Industrially allotted land should be used by those who can generate income, employment: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently observed that industrially allotted land should be utilized by someone who can generate income and employment [Poyilakada Fisheries Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Kerala]..A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh upheld a Kerala High Court ruling that held that industrial land allotments are intended for economic development and industrial growth and must, therefore, be utilized by the allottee for such purposeThe Supreme Court on Friday opined that there was no reason to interfere with the High court ruling."Let the land be used by someone who will generate some income and employment now. In our view, no case made to interfere with the Division Bench (High Court) order. If the petitioner is eligible for compensation as per single judge order, let it be decided by competent authority," the top court said..The Court was dealing with a plea challenging a December 2024 Division Bench order of the Kerala High Court, which upheld the cancellation of an industrial land allotment to a company called Poyilakada Fisheries Pvt. Ltd., after it failed to utilize the land for its intended purpose.The patta (legal document proving ownership of property) issued to the Poyilakada Fisheries (appellant) in 1990 required the land to be used for industrial purposes - specifically for manufacturing frozen marine products - and prohibited alienation or encumbrance without prior government approval..The appellant ceased regular operations in 2004, citing economic hardship. Despite several notices from authorities and assurances to resume operations, the unit remained non-functional. In 2014, the General Manager of the District Industries Centre re-allotted the land to four others since Poyilakada had not been using it for the intended purpose. .Aggrieved by this decision, the appellant initially moved the Kerala High Court against the government’s decision to cancel its patta. A single judge Bench of the High Court dismissed the writ petition due to the appellant’s failure to utilize the land for its intended purpose.However, it was observed that the Poyilakada Fisheries was at liberty to raise any claim for compensation or for value of improvement in accordance with the Rules.A Division Bench of the High Court later upheld this single-judge ruling."(Industrial) plots are allotted at concessional rates with a view to provide opportunity to entrepreneurs to establish industrial units which will contribute to the industrial growth and economic development. When the allottee fails to utilize the property for the purpose for which it is allotted, the very object of the scheme gets defeated," it observed.This prompted Poyilakada Fisheries to approach the Supreme Court for relief. The Court dismissed this appeal yesterday. .Advocates Rashmi Nandakumar and Yashmita Pandey represented Poyilakada Fisheries while Advocates K Rajeev, Niveditha R Menon, Aditya Verma, and Tarun Kumar represented the respondents. .[Read Order]