Activist Srisuwan Janya is urging the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) to take legal action against 12 politicians who allegedly have no right to occupy Sor Por Kor land.
The Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution secretary-general on Fridayfiled a petition with Alro asking it to launch a probe and seize the land back from the politicians. If Alro fails to take action, he will take the matter to the Central Administrative Court.
He said he filed a complaint to prove there should only be one standard.
The 12 politicians include MPs from the Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai and Future Forward parties, a senator and Palang Pracharath MP Pareena Kraikupt.
However, Alro secretary-general Vinaroj Sapsongsuk said earlier that his office could not take legal action against Ms Pareena after she agreed to hand over 682 rai of Sor Por Kor land in her possession.
Mr Vinaroj said Alro cannot take legal action not because it is favouring her but because it has no jurisdiction over the land.
He added the 682 rai occupied by Ms Pareena came under the jurisdiction of the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) before it was transferred to Alro to be distributed to landless farmers in 2014 as part of a land reform programme.
Ms Pareena had possession of the land before it was marked for the reform programme and now that she has agreed to return the land, Alro has no just cause to take her to court, he said.
However, Mr Vinaroj said that even though Ms Pareena has been spared by Alro, the Ratchaburi MP may have violated other laws governing public or forest land under RFD.
The RFD is reportedly prepared to take action against Ms Pareena for encroaching on 46 rai of forest land and, if found guilty, the penalty will be stiff -- up to 20 years in prison.
The RFD is also studying whether to take legal action against Ms Pareena in the case of 682 rai of land which had been under its jurisdiction before.