A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday upheld a single Bench verdict dismissing the plea of some of the leasees on the land of Cochin Port Trust at Willingdon Island against their eviction.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A. M. Shaffique passed the verdict while dismissing their appeals against the single judge’s verdict filed by the Cochin Port Trust Leasees Association and others. According to them, they were being evicted from the land in order to give the property to Malabar Cements for setting up a Cements Logistics Hub.
The court granted three months time to surrender the land to Cochin Port Trust after demolishing their structures.
The court pointed out that the petitioners’ lease had never been renewed after 1997.
Therefore, they could not claim any right of continuance and as their lease period has expired, they were obliged to surrender their land to the Port Trust in its original form.
The Bench observed that the contention that land could not be handed over to the Malabar Cements could not be accepted. The court observed that it did not find any error in the single judge verdict.
The petitioners argued that the decision to evict them was arbitrary.
The CPT contended that the renewal of licence was not automatic and the decision not to renew the lease had been taken by the Port Trust in accordance with the land management policy.
