Table of Contents
New law is beneficial to Kodavas as it confers full ownership of Jamma Bane land on them: Karnataka High Court
Court upholds constitutional validity of Karnataka Land Revenue (Third Amendment) Act, 2011
Upholding the Constitutional validity of the Karnataka Land Revenue (Third Amendment) Act, 2011, the High Court of Karnataka has held that the amendment is not against the interest of the Kodava family system or tradition, but on the contrary, the amendment confers full ownership rights over the Jamma Bane land in Kodagu district and is beneficial legislation in favour of the Kodavas.
“It is clear that by way of the amendment what is achieved is to grant full ownership of the land to the Kodava family, including all division holders i.e., all members of the family, in a land which earlier had stood vested in the government and the government was the owner thereof,” said Justice Suraj Govindaraj in his verdict. This cannot be said to be in violation of any custom, tradition or usage of the Kodava community, he said.
What petition said
The court made these observations in its July 25 verdict while dismissing the petitions filed by Brigadier Maletira A. Devaiah (retd) and 42 other Kodavas, who had questioned the constitutional validity of the amendment made to Sections 2 and 80 of the KLR Act, 1964. The petitioners had claimed that the amendment would “disrupt the Kodava family system” and their joint family customs and traditions as it compels them to divide the land.
While analysing the history and verdicts of courts on Jamma Bane landholding among Kodavas, the court said it cannot be contended by the petitioners that there was “always an embargo for a member of a Kodava family to alienate his property to a third party and/or for partition to be effected amongst the members of the Kodava family”.
Pointing out that the classification of Jamma Bane land was made on the basis of the land tenure system and not on the basis of customs or usage of Kodavas, Mr. Justice Govindaraj said, “Thus, in my opinion, there is no custom, usage or tradition, which can be said to be in existence prohibiting the alienation or partition of the property of a Kodava family.”
By referring to laws banning child marriage and dowry, the court also said that neither a Statute nor an amendment to the Statute can be questioned on the basis of the Statute or amendment thereto being violative of customs, usage or traditions.
Brought equality
“There is equality brought about between the Kodavas and other occupants of the land inasmuch as the Kodavas could not have filed an application for regularisation or grant of occupancy rights as regards Jamma Bane land prior to the amendment,” the court pointed out. Whereas persons residing in other parts of the State could make an application for grant of occupancy rights as regards the land which they were in occupation of in an authorised or unauthorised manner, the court said.
Clearing the petitioner’s apprehensions, the court said there would be no requirement for partition to be effected among the members of the Kodava family in view of the amendment. What is required is that the entire family’s names would be registered in the land records as the occupant of the Jamma Bane land.
Earlier, the government was the owner of even Jamma Bane land, including timber and trees on such lands, and by virtue of the amendment, the Kodava family is now granted full ownership of the land, which automatically vests the ownership of timber, standing trees, etc., on the land with the family/individual, the court said.
Read Comments
- Copy link
- Telegram
READ LATER
Remove
SEE ALL
PRINT
Related Topics
Karnataka
/
land resources