THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Revenue officials have no authority to make final decisions in land ownership disputes, such matters should be decided by civil courts, said Alexander Thomas, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission (HRC). But, Revenue Department which accepts land tax, has the authority to determine whether a land is government-owned land or not, the order noted.

Justice Alexander Thomas observed that accepting land tax is merely a mechanism for generating government revenue and does not establish ownership rights over land. There are several higher court rulings that support this position.

The commission acted on a petition submitted by V Jayakumar, a resident of Vamanapuram. He had complained that since 2023, land tax was not being accepted for a 3 3/4 cent plot in his name.

Though HRC issued an order for the acceptance of tax under the Kerala Land Tax Act, the Revenue Department did not comply. The Commission then summoned the Nedumangad Tahsildar for a direct hearing.

The Tahsildar argued that the land in question included poramboke land and accepting tax would validate the claim over such government land.