Little did Sherly Albert, a 57-year-old woman from Edappally in Ernakulam, know that her property in Vagamon was no longer her’s when she and her daughter visited it around four years back. Sherly, who is a cancer survivor, was shocked to learn that the 10.52 acres that had been jointly owned by her sister and her had been sold and that many resorts and hotels had mushroomed there. Her former husband Jolly Stephen had forged documents to sell the land. He had previously been booked for selling 55 acres of government land in Vagamon by forging documents. Even though Sherly took immediate legal action, she had to face several hurdles as the people whom she fought against were powerful and influential.
In 2020, Sherly filed a petition in the Kerala High Court to get back her property, which she had bought decades ago with the money her mother gave her at the time of her wedding in 1988. Even though she got a favourable judgement in 2021, she still has not got back her property. Following another order from the High Court on August 14, the property was measured by Revenue department officials on September 6.
“This property was bought with the help of my mother and my sister's husband. It was registered in both of our names. My former husband had also acquired some land there, which, we learned much later, was government land. It was only after 2010 that I came to know about it. We had separated several years before that, in 1998,” Sherly told TNM.
Sherly was diagnosed with cancer and was under treatment for it between 2019 and 2020. It was during this period that Jolly sold off her property. “I did not know what to do. It was around the time that I had been diagnosed with cancer. I struggled a lot. He probably thought I would succumb to cancer, which could be why he sold my property by forging documents,” she said.
In her petition in the High Court, Sherly had requested to check some of the fraudulent purchase certificates made in the name of various persons. She had alleged that Jolly Stephen and another man called Biju George had created bogus purchase certificates by forging signatures and documents.
The High Court, in an order issued in October 2021, noted that the Idukki District Collector had directed the tahsildar to cancel 12 of the forged pattas that year. However, the tahsildar did not act on the Collector’s direction. The government pleader informed the court that the pattas involved in the case had been cancelled. The court’s order said, “The District Collector and tahsildar must complete the proceedings with respect to the request of the petitioner so that she and her sister will obtain back the properties on registry without any avoidable delay.” It also said that the action should be taken immediately, not later than three months.
Even after the court order, no favourable action was taken. Sherly waited for one and a half years and filed a contempt of court petition against the delay in May 2023. On August 14, 2023, the High Court directed the authorities to measure the property immediately. It was after this that the property was measured on September 6. The Idukki district administration has informed her that it will be handed over to Sherly immediately.
A revenue official told TNM that at least 12 resorts and hotels function in the property. “When we tried to measure the property initially, the current occupants protested and we couldn't do it. On September 6, we took police protection to do it,,” the official said. The current occupants will have to be evicted before Sherly gets to enjoy full possession of the land. However, the revenue official said that evicting the inhabitants will be “a troublesome process”.
The resort owners in the contested property allege that they were dragged into the issue due to a family dispute. According to them, the property had been owned by Jolly and Sherly equally. To this, Sherly responds that the current owners as well as her were equally cheated by Jolly. “The current occupants are angry at me. But they should understand that we were equally cheated. It was my property and Jolly forged the documents. This has been proved in the court now,” Sherly said.
In 2019, a crime branch enquiry had also revealed that Jolly Stephen had sold 55 acres of government land in Vagamon by forging documents. When the fraud came to light, there were around 200 resorts functioning in the illegally sold lands. In 2021, the resort owners occupying the illegally sold government land filed a petition in the High Court pleading to be not evicted by then District Collector H Dineshan. Even though the High Court quashed the petition, the evictions are yet to be completed due to technical reasons.