Lakshadweep islanders get temporary legal reprieve in their fight against administration on ‘pandaram lands’
A single bench of the Kerala High Court issues interim stay on the administration’s move to take over ‘pandaram’ lands for three months
Lakshadweep islanders contesting the Lakshadweep administration’s move to take over ‘pandaram’ lands seem to have received a temporary legal reprieve after a single bench of the Kerala High Court issued an interim stay on the entire proceedings for three months.
The bench of judge P.V. Kunhikrishnan passed the stay order on a writ petition (civil) by Alimanikfan and four other affected parties of Minicoy Island pending disposal of their petition. Prior to the interim stay issued on Friday, the Lakshadweep administration had claimed that the Kerala High Court had not stayed any of the ongoing proceedings, including survey, in pandaram lands on the islands but had only restrained displacement.
The administration’s claim was that on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Mohammed Sadique of Kalpeni island, the division bench of Chief Justice A.J. Desai and Justice V.G. Arun had only refrained the respondents from taking any coercive action or eviction of the islanders, who were in possession of pandaram lands, till September 15, 2024, pending final disposal of the writ petition.
“However, that PIL only sought time to approach the court for contesting the administration’s proceedings on pandaram lands and not for staying the proceedings per se. The single bench’s interim stay on the entire proceedings came after that and is likely to be applicable for more affected parties who are set to approach the court in the coming days with a similar plea. In fact, the special counsel of the administration tried to mislead the court by creating the impression that the PIL and the petition before the single bench was one and the same, and that the restriction on displacement alone as passed by the division bench be made applicable in the case of the latter as well,” said P.P. Mohammed Faizal, former Lakshadweep MP.
Sources in the Lakshadweep administration said the interim stay by the single bench seemed to be on the entire proceedings, including the survey. However, how it would be interpreted by the government authorities remains to be seen, they added.
Pandaram lands, a kind of land ownership, turned into a bone of contention between the islanders and the administration recently after the latter initiated a survey of the said land claiming that it belonged to the government. However, the islanders claimed that according to the agreement under which the lands were handed over to them in 1884, they were entitled to ownership if they continued to possess the land for 40 years.
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