C.J. MATHEWS Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR, ERNAKULAM COLLECTORATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Writ Petition (C) is filed seeking the following reliefs:

(2.) Mr C.J. Mathews is a 92-year-old man. This nonagenarian has been fighting for a genuine cause for the last 9 years. He apprehends an imminent danger to his property and his residential building because of certain trees standing on the neighbouring property. Mr C.J. Mathews, a nonagenarian, is fighting at multiple levels of bureaucracy to have those trees cut and removed. Although he failed, he continues to fight, and at last he has knocked on the doors of this court. When I see the fighting mood of Mr C.J. Mathew, I recall the famous poem by the freedom fighter Sree T.S. Thirumumbu titled [xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] (My Youth), written decades back. It will be better to extract the four lines of the above poem:

(3.) I am not attempting to translate these strong words of the legend Sree T.S. Thirumumb to English because I may not be able to convey the same in that spirit. But for the purpose of this judgment, I will say the brief message in it. The poet says that, greying my head is not my old age, and also not greying my head is not my youthfulness. The poet again states that counting the days from birth to the final day of life is not a measure of my youthfulness. The poet firmly says that the courage to never bow his head to the tyranny of bureaucracy during that time was his youthfulness. These words speak volumes. This message is intended for older adults and younger people: "age is no barrier to anything; it is a limitation you put on your mind and a lack of enthusiasm that holds you back".