Pathanthitta: Even as the Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of Kerala government in the Harrisons case, the tile of the land in its possession eludes Harrisons. The High Court judgement of 11 April was that the act of acquisition of the Harrisons land by the Revenue special Officer was irregular. The appeal now rejected by SC is against that HC verdict.
However, the High Court had not said that the land in possession is owned by Harrisons. The court had also said that if the government had any dispute about the title, it could proceed with civil action on that.
The main contention of the government in the Harrisons land case questions the validity of land deals by foreign companies after Independence. Neither the High Court nor the Supreme Court has touched on that aspect. Therefore, a demanding surfacing is that all the land transactions made by British companies following Independence should be nullified through legislation. There has been criticism that the High court verdict went against the government just because the government conceded the case. Now with the government losing the case in Supreme Court too, that allegation has gained strength.
Curiously enough, Harrisons either does not claim that the possessed land is its. The Company has been paying tax in the name of foreign companies. And Harrisons' annual reports have been consistently mentioning that the entire land in its possession belongs to the British Company Malayalam Plantations (holding) Limited. The High Court instruction was to approach the civil court which has been ratified by the Supreme Court too, Advocate Generral Sudhakara Prasad told Madhyamam.
The government approached the Supreme Court to protect the people's interest. In the past also, several similar petitions filed with confidence were rejected, he pointed out. AG also said that whether to approach the civil court as directed by the High Court, or go for legislation is to be decided by the government.
Susheela Bhatt, former government counsel, who had also handled the Harrisons case in the court, told Madhyamam that the case had all the potential to win, and it is unfortunate that it was rejected. She added that in order to end the legal battle regarding title to land, the government should acquire the land through legislation.
There is also a complaint that the government only filed an appeal for the sake of it and conceded the case.
The background of the case
Harrisons Malayalam Company has been functioning in the state with a claim that it is the successor of the British companies Malayalam Plantations, and Harrisons & Crossfield. Three commissions appointed by the government through their enquiry, had discovered that the British companies did not legally hand over the land to the current Harrisons Malayalam and the latter has been illegally keeping possession of over one lakh acres of land. The reports also recommended the government should acquire the property.
Later as per the directive of the High Court, a vigilance enquiry was conducted which uncovered several irregularities including forged documents, conspiracy, violation of foreign exchange regulation act, correcting government record, and violation of Land Conservancy Act, Land Reforms Act, and Indian Independence Act.
In the meantime, in 2013 the High Court had ordered that if the company's possession was illegal, the government could take over the land through due process of law. As per this, during the last UDF government, MK Rajamanikyam was appointed Special Officer for ascertaining the title and acquisition of the land of Harrisons as per Land Protection Act Section 15. In his enquiry, it was found that the company was in illegal possession of tens of thousands of acres in the districts of Kollam, Pathanthitta, Kottayam and Idukki. Subsequently, through 18 orders, the government took over 38,171 acres of land. Out of this, the court had ratified two orders acquiring 517 acres. It was challenging the appointment and jurisdiction of Rajamanikyam and his actions that the company had approached the High Court.