Thiruvananthapuram: The decision to hand over the Kovalam Palace to a private industrial group was reportedly taken as early as the second week of June. Two different legal advises, which appear contradictory, backed the decision.
In February, a cabinet meeting left it to the chief minister to decide if a civil case can be initiated to keep the palace in government hands. The cabinet then had considered an advise from the Advocate General (AG) that legal provisions support keeping the property with the government.
However, later in June, when the decision was taken to hand over the palace to a private group, the AG gave a different advise to the chief minister, saying that legal battles will no longer help. The government only retained the right file a civil suit after revenue minister E. Chandrasekharan submitted a letter insisting on it. The AG's advise was sought earlier when the revenue department opposed a tourism department proposal to hand over the palace to the private group.
The government had acquired the palace and its land from the Travancore royal family in 1962. In 1970, it was handed over to the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). The Ashoka Beach Resort, run by the ITDC, worked there until 2002. But the central government in 2002 sold the palace and the land to Emfar group, which in turn sold it to the Leela Group. In 2004, the royal family requested that the palace should be maintained as a heritage memorial. The government then took over the palace and the land.
Leela Group then moved the court against the takeover. In 2005, the High Court annulled government orders taking over the property. In August that year, government brought legislation to take over the palace. The High Court in 2011 ruled that the legislation is unconstitutional. Government then filed a writ petition against it, but the court dismissed it too. A special leave petition filed in the Supreme Court was also rejected. RP Group had later bought the palace and land from the Leela Group.
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