Vehicle Cannot Be Seized Under Kerala Conservation Of Paddy Land Act Without Specific Allegation Of Use For Contravention: High Court
Case: Siraj v. The District Collector & Anr.
Coram: Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas
Case No.: WP(C) NO. 28419 OF 2023
Court Observation: “Seizure of a vehicle interferes with the right of an owner to use his property in the manner he likes, subject, of course, to law. Since seizure interferes with proprietary rights, provisions conferring the power of seizure must be interpreted strictly. The safeguards and the stipulations provided by the statute for the exercise of such a power must also be strictly complied with,”
“The above safeguards provided by the statute ought to be interpreted strictly lest there be a misuse of the extraordinary power conferred upon the authorities under the Act. Therefore, unless the Officer seizing the vehicle is satisfied that such a vehicle was used or deemed to have been used for converting a paddy land, he cannot resort to the power of seizure,”
“The only observation as noticed from the mahazar is that he was satisfied ‘that there was contravention of the provisions of the Act, and hence, the vehicle is being taken into custody’. There is no whisper even that the vehicle was used or can be said to be deemed to have been used for contravening the provisions of the Act,”
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Vehicle Cannot Be Seized Under Kerala Conservation
