Judgment :- 1. The Taluk Land Board, Neyyattinkara as per its order dated 16-6-1976 directed the petitioner to surrender 25 cents of land as excess land in his possession. This order was confirmed in revision C. R. P. 3139 of 1976 by this Court on 29-11-1978 This Court however allowed the petitioner to submit a statement of option specifying the land to be surrendered. In pursuance to this, the petitioner submitted a statement of option offering to surrender 25 cents from Sy. No. 557/4-C of Kunnathukal-B Village. This option was rejected by the Taluk Land Board on the ground that the petitioner is only a mortgagee of the land in respect of which a suit for redemption is pending. 2. The question for decision is whether the Taluk Land Board is bound to accept the offer for surrender of the property held under a mortgage by the declarant in his possession. S.83 of the Land Reforms Act enacts that with effect from the date notified by the Government in the Gazette no person is entitled to own or hold or possess under a mortgage lands in the aggregate in excess of the ceiling area. The inhibition is not only against owning or holding but also possessing land under a mortgage in excess of the ceiling area. In the present case, the land possessed by the declarant under a mortgage is rightly taken into account in considering the total extent of land in the possession of the declarant for the purpose of determining the extent of land to be surrendered as excess land in his possession. Under sub-section (6) of S.85 the Taluk Land Board is bound to accept the choice indicated by the declarant in determining the identity of the land to be surrendered The proviso to subsection (6) of S.85 however states that the Taluk Land Board shall not be bound to accept such choice if it has reason to believe that the person who has indicated the land to be surrendered has no good title to the land or that the land indicated is not accessible or for any other reason to be recorded in writing that it is not practicable to accept the choice or to take possession of the land. 3. It is not in dispute that the declarant has title to the land as a mortgagee in possession. 3. It is not in dispute that the declarant has title to the land as a mortgagee in possession. He is therefore competent to pass such title on surrender of the excess land to the Government. Sub clause (B) or (C) of the proviso to subsection (6) of S.85 have no application to the facts of the present case. The Taluk Land Board has no case that either of the sub clauses (B) and (C) can have any application. The Taluk Land Board is therefore bound to accept the choice indicated by the declarant. 4. S.88 of the Act containing the provisions for payment of compensation to the person surrendering excess land contemplates also surrender of lands held under a mortgage. Sub-section (4) of S 88 is extracted below: "88. (4): Where the rights of a mortgagee in possession are vested in the Government (i) Where the ownership of the land mortgaged has vested in the Government the mortgagee shall be treated as a holder of an encumbrance in respect of the land, and the encumbrance shall be discharged as provided in S.91 and 92; (ii) in other cases, the Government shall pay to the mortgagee the amount, to which he would have been entitled under clause (i) if the ownership of the land mortgaged had vested in the Government, and hold the land as mortgagee with possession with all the rights and liabilities of the mortgagee." From this, it is clear that the land possessed under a mortgage taken into account in the total extent of land held by the declarant can very well be surrendered by the declarant as excess land in his possession. The result is, 1 allow the CRP. and direct the surrender of the 25 cents of land in Sy. No. 555/4-C of Kunnathukal-B Village, as per the statement of option submitted by the declarant. There will be no order as to costs.