In 2021, LuLu Group began preliminary work on building a mall on wetland and paddy fields in Ayyanthole village in Thrissur. Soon, a local resident and a CPI leader, T N Mukundan filed objections with the local revenue authorities, citing the Kerala Paddy Land and Wetland Conservation Act of 2008. He alleged that the land in question had been classified as paddy fields and wetlands in official records, which should have prevented any form of commercial construction.
When authorities failed to act, Mukundan took the matter to the Kerala High Court. The litigation drew widespread attention, with environmentalists, political activists, and local communities rallying behind him. The court ordered a status quo on certain aspects of the project, forcing the LuLu Group to respond to allegations of violation.
The land, measuring about 4 acres, was originally owned by the Chirekkaran Group. Mukundan recalled that he had first filed a complaint before the Village Officer, revenue divisional officer (RDO), and Collector when clay mining was permitted under a geology license. While that case was pending, the Chirekkaran Group applied to the RDO for land conversion. The RDO rejected the application, and when the Group appealed, the Land Revenue Commissioner upheld the RDO’s decision.
After LuLu Group acquired the land the Chirekkaran Group, the former applied to the RDO to remove the land from the official paddy land data bank. Normally, such applications can only be considered with the consent of the Agriculture Officer and other relevant authorities. However, in this case, the RDO bypassed the usual process and directly excluded the land from the data bank. LuLu then applied to change the land category, and the RDO accepted the application.
Following this, Lulu Group dug a pond and built a boundary wall on the reclassified land. Complaints were filed against this construction, which the RDO forwarded to the Collector. The RDO even submitted a report recommending that the construction work be stopped. However, Lulu argued that since the land had already been reclassified under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, no action could be taken against them. After reviewing the documents, the Collector upheld Lulu’s argument.
Mukundan told LCW, "After I came to know that the land had been reclassified in favour of the LuLu Group, I filed a legal appeal with the Collector against this reclassification. The then Collector, Haritha V Kumar, took note of my appeal and assigned the Agriculture Officer and the RDO to investigate the matter. On learning this, the LuLu Group approached the High Court, claiming that their land had already been reclassified and the required payment had been made. They argued that the Collector’s action should therefore be canceled. At this stage, I became a party to the case and also filed another complaint against the Lulu Group. The court decided to combine both cases into a single proceeding."
On 27 August 2025, the Kerala High Court court directed the Collector and RDO to reconsider and pass orders within four months on the application by LuLu Hyper Market Pvt Ltd seeking removal of its property from the data bank of paddy lands under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008.
The court cancelled the order on land reclassification stating that the RDO had passed the orders "without obtaining the mandatory report from the Agricultural Officer or the Local Level Monitoring Committee (LLMC)." The court further directed that the amount of Rs. 8.80 crore, which had been deposited with the government for reclassification, should be returned.
The court also ordered the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSRSEC) to prepare a fresh report based "strictly in accordance with the satellite images obtained for the relevant period" to ascertain the land's status at the time the 2008 Act came into force. Lulu Group has filed appeals before the division bench of the Kerala High Court against this order, which remain pending.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to cancel the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to restore the wetland.
Region Classification
Urban
Type of Land
Common and Private
Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land, Water bodies, Other Natural Resource extraction/dependence
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Environmental Law
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Kerala High Court
Case Number
W.P.(C) 38444/2022; W.P.(C) 1045/2023; W.A. 2369/2025; W.A. 2294/2025
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Lulu Group
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
