Rukmana's claim on land denied

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta State Administrative Court has turned down the lawsuit filed by a private firm against the state minister of agrarian affairs over a 214-hectare plot in Rancamaya, Bogor, West Java.

Judge Lintong A. Siahaan said at Monday's hearing that Ahmad Hendra Kowara and Indra Rukmana had no legal right to claim the land.

"Thus the letter issued by the State Minister of Agrarian Affairs Office/National Land Agency on July 15, 1995, which granted PT Surya Mas Duta Makmur a permit to use the 2,517 hectares of land in Rancamaya, is legal," the judge said.

Kowara and Rukmana said they disagree and maintain that the land is theirs.

Kowara and Rukmana said in the lawsuit that they obtained the plot from the owner, Toebagoes Tjetjep Adiredja, on July 31, 1980. They said they paid Rp 1.8 billion for a surat kuasa, which is a letter of authorization that states that they own the land documents.

According to judge Lintong, possession of the documents does not mean possession of the land.

The plaintiffs, Lintong said, should have gone to the district court to get legal ownership of the land before filing a lawsuit at the State Administrative Court.

Boediman Paningkas, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he would appeal. (26)