Kerala High Court
M.M. Said Anwar vs Union Of India on 21 December, 2002
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE T.R. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR
FRIDAY, THE 9TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2012/18TH KARTHIKA 1934
WP(C). No. 25370 of 2012 (U)
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PETITIONER:
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M.M. SAID ANWAR, AGED 32 YEARS
PARAKULANGARA HOUSE, MUTHUVALLUR POST, KONDOTTY
MALAPPURAM DISTRICT.
BY ADVS. SRI. DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
SRI. ADARSH KUMAR
SRI. K.M. ANEESH
RESPONDENTS:
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1. UNION OF INDIA
REPRESENTED BY SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, NEW DELHI-110001.
2. DISTRICT COLLECTOR
MALAPPURAM-676505.
3. SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE
MALAPPURAM-676505.
4. DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE
MALAPPURAM-676505.
5. CIRCLE INSPECTOR OF POLICE
MALAPPURAM-676505.
R1 BY ADV. SRI. P. PARAMESWARAN NAIR, ASG OF INDIA
R2 to R5 BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT. SAREENA GEORGE
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
09-11-2012, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C). No. 25370 of 2012 (U)
APPENDIX
PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:-
EXHIBIT P1 - COPY OF THE LICENSE VALID TILL 31-03-2015 ISSUED UNDER
ARTICLE 3 (a) TO (d) OF PARTI OF SCHEDULE IV OF THE
EXPLOSIVE RULES 2008 DATED 21-12-2002.
EXHIBIT P2 - COPY OF THE REQUISITE PERMIT FROM THE MALAPPURAM
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL DATED 04-05-2012.
EXHIBIT P3 - COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION UNDER RULE 17
(14) OF THE KERALA VALUE ADDED TAX RULES 2008 DATED
24-09-2012.
EXHIBIT P4 - COPY OF THE AMMONIUM NITRATE RULES 2012.
EXHIBIT P5 - COPY OF THE PETITIONER'S APPLICATION MADE IN THE
FORMAT PRESCRIBED UNDER THE AMMONIUM NITRATE RULES
DATED 12-09-2012.
EXHIBIT P6 - COPY OF THE 2ND RESPONDENT'S ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT
OF EXHIBIT P5 APPLICATION.
RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS:- NIL
//TRUE COPY//
P.A. TO JUDGE
sp
T.R. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR, J.
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W.P.(C) No.25370 OF 2012
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Dated this the 9th day of November, 2012.
J U D G M E N T
This writ petition is filed by the petitioner, who is a registered dealer of ammonium nitrate, seeking for various directions. It is stated in the writ petition that he holds a licence that is valid till 31.03.2015 issued under Article 3(a) to (d) of Part I of Schedule IV of the Explosive Rules 2008. Ext.P1 is a copy of the said licence. Ext.P2 is a copy of the permit issued by the Malappuram Municipal Council and Ext.P3 is a copy of the certificate of registration under Rule 17(14) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Rules which is valid upto 31.03.2012 and the 1st respondent has promulgated new Rules namely, Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012. Ext.P4 is a copy of the relevant Rules.
2. According to the petitioner, the petitioner has made an application to the 2nd respondent in the form prescribed under W.P.(C) No.25370/2012 2 Part II of Schedule II of the Rules 2012 as envisaged under Rule 5 of the Rules (Ext.P5). Various documents have been produced along with the same and Ext.P6 is a copy of the acknowledgment card. According to the petitioner, under the proviso to Rule 5 of Ext.P4, the petitioner is allowed a period of six months to apply for a licence and a period of one year to comply with the provisions of the Rules. The reason for filing this writ petition stated in paragraph 6 is that respondents 3 to 5 have been obstructing the petitioner's business unit and are actively engaged in causing problems to the petitioner on the ground that the petitioner does not have the requisite licence under the Rules.
3. In the light of the above, the petitioner is seeking for a declaration that the petitioner is entitled under Ext.P4 to apply for a licence and a period of one year is available to comply with the provisions of Ext.P4.
4. Learned Government Pleader has obtained written instructions from the 5th respondent as well as from the District Collector, Malappuram. In the written instructions furnished by the District Collector, Malappuram, it is stated that the petitioner W.P.(C) No.25370/2012 3 has submitted an application in Form A3 which has been received on 13.09.2012. The new Ammonium Nitrate Rules 2012 have been notified only recently and as it is a new set of Rules Ammonium Nitrate and its licencing procedures to be adopted for processing the application under these Rules are yet to be determined for which no instructions have been received from the Government of Kerala or the Land Revenue Commissioner regarding the reports to be collected from the different agencies. It is stated that once a clear cut procedure is determined regarding the processing of the applications under the new Rules, the application of the petitioner will be considered properly.
5. The Circle Inspector of Police, Malappuram in the written instructions has stated that the police authorities have been verifying the Magazine and the stock of explosives frequently from the date on which the licence came into existence. The last spot verification was conducted by the 5th respondent on 22.09.2012. It is stated that the Police did not interfere the petitioner's business of dealing with Ammonium Nitrate till date. It is also stated that the 5th respondent never visits petitioner's W.P.(C) No.25370/2012 4 business institution mentioned in the writ petition situated at Melmuri, Malappuram and has not even summoned the petitioner to the office for any purpose related to the petitioner's business. It is further stated that the facts otherwise made in the writ petition are not correct. It is also stated that the purpose seems to be that petitioner urgently requires an order from this Court for purchasing Ammonium Nitrate as the purchase and sale of Ammonium Nitrate is governed by the provisions of the Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012.
6. In the light of the fact that the Police has not obstructed the business of the petitioner, the allegations otherwise made in the writ petition cannot be accepted in its face value. Therefore, this writ petition is disposed of with the following directions:
The application of the petitioner will be disposed of as per the procedures prescribed which will be duly informed to the petitioner after disposal of the same. Even though learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that a declaration as sought for is liable to be granted, on the facts of this case and in view of the submissions made by the learned Government Pleader that W.P.(C) No.25370/2012 5 the 5th respondent has not interfered the business of the petitioner, no further directions are called for.
T.R. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR JUDGE smp