Vimala Sundram and Rajappan vs The Elemkunnappuzha Grama Panchayat, The Secretary, The President and Mrs. Sheela Babu

P.N. Ravindran, J.—The Petitioners are residents of Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat. They are aggrieved by Exts. P7 and P8 notices issued by the third Respondent, the President of the Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat. By Ext. P6 judgment delivered on 17.9.2010 in W.P.(C) No. 26419 of 2010, which was filed by the 4th Respondent herein, a resident of Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat, this Court directed the Secretary of the Grama Panchayat and its officers to remove the encroachments into Old Panchayat road within the local limits of Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat, after following the procedure prescribed in the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Removal of Encroachment and Imposition and Recovery of Penalty for unauthorized Occupation) Rules, 1996. Pursuant to the said direction, the Secretary of Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat issued notices to the Petitioners and passed Exts. P7 and P8 orders directing them to vacate the encroachments, if any, within seven days from the date of notice. Aggrieved thereby, the Petitioners have filed Exts. P9 and P10 appeals before the Committee of the Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat along with stay petitions seeking stay of operation of Exts. P7 and P8 orders. In this writ petition, the Petitioners seek a direction to the first Respondent to consider the said appeals and pass orders thereon, after affording them an opportunity of being heard, within a time limit to be fixed by this Court and to keep in abeyance all further proceedings pursuant to Exts. P7 and P8 orders till the appeals are heard and disposed of. The learned Counsel for the Petitioners submits that if pending disposal of the appeals, the impugned orders are implemented, the appellate remedy will be rendered illusory and meaningless.

Sri. S. Shanavas Khan, the learned standing counsel appearing for the Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat submitted that the appeals will be taken up for hearing by the Committee of the Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat on 9.12.2010 and that after hearing the Petitioners or their authorized representatives, the Committee will take a decision in the matter at the earliest. The learned standing counsel also submitted that till the appeals are heard and disposed of, the orders impugned in the writ petition will not be given effect to.

In such circumstances, I dispose of the writ petition with the following directions. In the event of the Petitioners or their authorized representatives appearing before the Committee of the Elamkunnapuzha Grama Panchayat at 11 a.m. on 9.12.2010 the Committee shall hear the Petitioners or their authorized representatives, consider the grounds raised in the appeal and takean appropriate decision in the matter expeditiously and in any event, within a period of two weeks from the date of hearing. The Committee shall thereupon communicate the decision taken in the appeals to the Petitioners. Till such time as orders are communicated to the Petitioners, the operation of Exts. P7 and P8 orders impugned in Exts. P9 and P10 appeals shall stand stayed.