THOMMACHAN JACOB Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These writ petitions are filed by Oil Marketing Companies and various Franchisees selected by them for starting Petroleum Fuel Retail Outlets in Kerala. They are aggrieved by the non-grant of / rejection of application for issuing, No Objection Certificates (NOCs) by the District Authorities, for establishing Petroleum Fuel Retail Outlets in various places in Kerala as contemplated under Rule 144 of the Petroleum Rules, 2002. Their applications were rejected mainly on the ground that the locations of such Petroleum Fuel Retail Outlets do not satisfy the conditions stipulated in the Indian Road Congress (IRC) Guidelines or the relevant orders issued by the Government of Kerala for Access Permission to Fuel Stations. Some of the writ petitioners seek to desist the respondent-District Authorities from granting NOCs to OMCs/Franchisees in violation of existing guidelines and challenging the NOCs already granted.

(2.) As these writ petitions are filed challenging the same Government Orders and as common questions of law arise, they were heard together and are disposed of by a common judgment. The exhibits produced in these writ petitions are referred to in this judgment as they are marked in

(3.) The Public Works Department (PWD) of Government of Kerala has been following the Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), specifications and Indian Road Congress (IRC) standards for the roads under the Kerala PWD including State Highways and Major District Roads, for granting access permission to Petroleum Fuel Retail Outlets (hereinafter referred to as 'Fuel Stations' for short). By Ext.P1 G.O.(Ms) No.46/2019/PWD dated 22.10.2019 of the Joint Secretary, PWD, the Government of Kerala accorded sanction for including "IRC: 12-2016 Unified Guidelines for Access Permission to Fuel Stations" in the PWD Manual (Revised 2012) as appendix. The IRC standards prescribed stringent norms for grant of access permission to Fuel Stations including requirement of minimum distance from road intersections.