The Kerala High Court has directed the Muvattupuzha Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) to pay ₹25,000 in costs for flouting the court’s direction to reconsider an application to remove a property listing from the Data Bank for land conversion.

Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan directed RDO V.E. Abbas to pay the amount to the Medical Aid Scheme of Kerala High Court Advocates Association within one month. If the amount was not paid by him, his superior officer was asked to deduct it from his salary and transfer it to the Kerala High Court Bar Association’s account. 

The court was considering the case of a person whose data bank application was rejected by Mr. Abbas. It imposed the costs after observing that, despite the court’s judgment directing all authorised officers to pass reasoned orders on land conversion requests and its specific direction to reconsider the petitioner’s application, the officer had not followed them. 

The court further stated that it was not initiating contempt proceedings, but instructed the department concerned to take disciplinary steps against the official. The court reminded all authorised officers considering applications to remove or correct a property’s listing in the Data Bank to follow the rules laid down by the court.