FR. LABERIN YESU Vs. K.BIJU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the complainant in Complaint No.1747 of 2014 before the Ombudsman for Local Self Government Institutions (the Ombudsman) constituted under Section 271G of Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994(the Act). Respondents 1 to 7 are the respondents in the said complaint. The complaint was in respect of a building permit issued by the officials of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation (the Corporation) on 27.07.2012 to respondents 6 and 7 for reconstructing a church building, and the construction carried on by respondents 6 and 7 on the strength of the building permit. The case set out by the petitioner in the complaint is that the building permit is one issued by the officials of the Corporation flouting the provisions of the Kerala Municipality Building Rules and the Aircraft Act ; that the officials of the Corporation have abused their position as public servants in the matter of issuing the building permit for personal gain and that they are guilty of corruption, favouritism, nepotism and lack of integrity. The petitioner, therefore, prayed for appropriate action against the officials of the Corporation, in the complaint. The petitioner also prayed for appropriate orders for cancellation of the building permit.

(2.) On receipt of notice on the complaint, respondents therein appeared before the Ombudsman and raised a preliminary objection as to the maintainability of the complaint. According to them, the subject matter of the complaint is one in which remedy is available to the complainant from the Tribunal for Local Self Government Institutions (the Tribunal) and therefore, in the light of the interdiction under Section 271M of the Act, the complaint is not maintainable. The Ombudsman upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed the complaint, in terms of Ext.P11 order. Ext.P11 order is under challenge in the writ petition.

(3.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as also the learned Senior Counsel for the Corporation.