BHARTI AIRTEL LTD. Vs. STATE OF KERALA,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is M/s. Bharti Airtel Limited, a company which has been granted licence by the Department of Telecommunication, Government of India for conducting Cellular Mobile operations in various states including Kerala. According to the petitioner, there is inordinate delay on the part of the local authorities within whose area telephone towers (base transmission stations) have been installed by the petitioner company in the matter of issuance of use certificates under Rule 142 of the Kerala Municipality Building Rules 1999 notwithstanding the submission of the completion certificates in Forms E and F.

(2.) RULE 22 of the Kerala Municipality Building Rules deals with completion certificate, development certificate and occupancy certificate as regards the ordinary constructions within areas where the Kerala Municipality Building Rules are applicable. Rule 22 (3) provides as follows:

(3.) NON insistence of a time frame as in the case of Rule 22 (3), according to the petitioner, is resulting in considerable hardship to the petitioner since there is inordinate delay on the part of the local authorities in issuing use certificates. Without use certificate from the local authority concerned, the petitioner and similar companies who are licencees of the Department of Telecommunication are being put to considerable inconveniences. Raising various grounds and enlisting as many as 422 local authorities with whom applications for use certificate are pending the petitioners pray for the following relief in this writ petition.