N.SIDDQUE Vs. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR MALAPPURAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner says that he is running a Petroleum Outlet under the permission of the 5th respondent - Reliance Industries Ltd. under the name and style "Neeeliyat Traders".

(2.) His allegations in this writ petition are against respondents 6 and 7 who, he says, are obstructing the maintenance and operations of the petrol pump and he prays that the concerned Police Authority, namely the second respondent, be directed to afford him and his Outlet sufficient and adequate police protection.

(3.) When we go through the pleadings on record, we gather the impression that the alleged obstruction being caused by respondents 6 and 7 is on account of the apprehension of the neighbours that the conduct of the petrol pump in the said area will cause irreparable prejudice and pollution in the area. We notice this submission made on behalf of respondents 6 and 7 by the learned counsel, Smt.Deepa, that they apprehend and fear that if there is any leak from the underground tanks of the petrol pump being sought to be operated by the petitioner, it would cause large scale deracination in the area and would even harm the lives of several people living around it. She says that in the past, there has been large scale contamination of ground water, which is the sole drinking water source of the residents of area and that the report from the Ground Water Department would also substantially confirm this.