The Kerala Prevention of Eviction Act, 1966
The Kerala Prevention of Eviction Act, 1966
The Kerala Prevention of Eviction Act, 1966 protects agricultural tenants and hut-dwellers in Kerala, particularly those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, from illegal eviction by landowners. It strictly prohibits evicting these vulnerable occupants outside the due process of law and imposes criminal penalties, including imprisonment and fines, on violators. Furthermore, it establishes a framework allowing unlawfully evicted tenants to apply to Revenue Divisional Officers for restoration of their land or dwellings. By securing land tenure rights and preventing arbitrary displacement, the law safeguards the livelihoods and housing security of underprivileged rural communities across the state.
- 0. Preamble
- 1. Short title, extent and commencement.
- 2. Definitions.
- 3. Prevention of eviction.
- 4. Penalty for eviction.
- 5. Cultivating tenants, etc., entitled to restoration of possession.
- 6. Prevention of eviction of cultivating tenants, etc., who are not members of any Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
- 7. Cultivating tenants, etc., entitled to restoration of possession.
- 8. Stay of suits or other proceedings for eviction.
- 9. Jurisdiction.
- 10. Protection to persons acting in goodfaith under this Act.
- 11. Saving of other laws.
- 12. Power to make rules.
- 13. Amendment of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963.
- 14. Savings.
- 51B. Landlord not to enter on surrendered or abandoned land.
PDF: pending for this language.