MADHAVA MENON Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is not the first time-and certainly may not be the last-that a person seeking a Trade License under the Kerala Municipality Act, 1961, has had to approach this Court. However, what is consterning is that, inspite of repeated judgments from this Court, finally culminating in Tomy Thomas v. State of Kerala (2019 (3) KLT 987 (F.B.)), few statutory Authorities still remain oblivious to the breadth and contours of their duties and obligations under the applicable provisions of law, thus forcing this Court to intervene and restate.

(2.) In this case, instead of considering an application for Trade License, the Secretary of the respondent Panchayat placed it before its committee and when they adopted a resolution to reject it, the Secretary invoked S. 182 of the Panchayat Raj Act to address the Government. This has caused the afore Writ Petition to be filed by the rival parties, interestingly, both sides challenging the Secretary's action of approaching the Government-with the applicant for licence asserting that she ought not to have referred its application for licence to the Panchayat Committee and the objectors to the grant of license contending that the Secretary should have accepted the resolution of the Panchayat Committee without approaching the Government.

(3.) These two Writ Petitions have been heard by me together on account of the inter-dependent nature of the factual circumstances involved and because the reliefs to be granted in one will certainly impact the reliefs to be granted in the other.