Dr. P.S. George vs State of Kerala, Balakrishna Panicker and Shaji

R. Basant, J.—Petitioner has come to this Court seeking issue of directions to Respondents 1 and 2 to afford protection to the Petitioner to enable him to conduct soil testing in his property, where he proposes to construct a hospital. Licence for construction of the hospital has not been obtained. Soil testing has to be done to decide whether the construction of the hospital can be attempted. If it is found to be suitable, the Petitioner shall take necessary steps to obtain the necessary permission/permit to undertake the construction of the hospital. The grievance of the Petitioner is that Respondents 3 and 4 are unnecessarily raising illegal objections/obstructions against such testing of the soil. It is, in these circumstances, prayed that appropriate directions may be issued.

Respondents 3 and 4 have entered appearance through a counsel. The learned Counsel for Respondents 3 and 4 submits that Respondents 3 and 4 have no objection if the activity is confined and limited to soil testing. The apprehension of Respondents 3 and 4 is that permission of soil testing if granted may be misutilised by the Petitioner to obstruct a pathway leading to the property in question which is being used by other neighbouring property owners also. In fact, on that dispute a suit has been filed before the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Kottayam, and the same is pending even now, submits the learned Counsel for Respondents 3 and 4. If the proposed activity is only soil testing without causing any obstruction or inconvenience to the users of the pathway of the neighbouring property owners, Respondents 3 and 4 shall not raise any obstruction, undertakes the learned Counsel on behalf of Respondents 3 and 4. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner promptly replies that the Petitioner has no intention to obstruct the pathway or to indulge in any acts causing inconvenience to the neighbouring property owners. The activity which the Petitioner wants to undertake is soil testing, for which experts have been engaged. The Petitioner undertakes that the work of soil testing will not in any way cause obstruction to the pathway or inconvenience to the neighbouring property owners.

The learned Government Pleader submits that appropriate directions may be issued, which shall be implemented by Respondents 1 and 2. The learned Government Pleader informs the Court that a crime has already been registered against Respondents 3 and 4 alleging commission of criminal offences, inter alia, u/s 447 I.P.C.

Having considered all the relevant inputs, we are satisfied that appropriate directions can be issued under Article 226 of the Constitution subject to appropriate safeguards.

In the result:

a) This Writ petition is allowed;

b) Respondent No. 2 is directed to afford police protection to the Petitioner to undertake the activity of soil testing in the property belonging to him without in any way obstructing the pathway leading to the property in question and without causing any inconvenience to the neighbouring property owners.