Kerala High Court
Kerala Legal Services Authority vs State Of Kerala on 11 March, 2022
Author: S. Manikumar
Bench: S.Manikumar, Shaji P.Chaly
WP(C) No.8140/2022 1 / 10
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.S.MANIKUMAR
&
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAJI P.CHALY
Friday, the 11th day of March 2022 / 20th Phalguna, 1943
WP(C) NO. 8140 OF 2022(S)
PETITIONER:
KERALA LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY, OFFICE OF THE KERALA LEGAL SERVICES
AUTHORITY, NIYAMA SAHAYA BHAVAN, HIGH COURT COMPOUND, ERNAKULAM,
KOCHI - 682 031, REPRESENTED BY ITS
MEMBER SECRETARY MR.NISAR AHAMMED K.T.
RESPONDENTS:
1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO
GOVERNMENT, LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT
SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM -695 001.
2. THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, FINANCE DEPARTMENT,
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM -695 001.
3. THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT,
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM -695 001.
4. THE CHIEF ENGINEER, LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT (EW), 5TH
FLOOR, SWARAJ BHAVAN, NANTHANCODE, KOWDIAR P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
-695 003.
5. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, COLLECTORATE, MALAPPURAM - 676 505.
6. THE DISTRICT PANCHAYAT, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT, REPRESENTED BY ITS
SECRETARY.
7. KALIKAVU GRAMA PANCHAYAT, OFFICE OF THE KALIKAVU GRAMA PANCHAYAT,
KALIKAVU P.O., MALAPPURAM DISTRICT - 676 525, REPRESENTED BY ITS
SECRETARY.
8. CHOKKAD GRAMA PANCHAYAT, OFFICE OF THE CHOKKAD GRAMA PANCHAYAT, KL
SH 39, CHOKKAD, KERALA, MALAPPURAM - 679 332.
Writ petition (civil) praying inter alia that in the circumstances
stated in the affidavit filed along with the WP(C) the High Court be
pleased to direct respondents 1 to 8 to immediately submit the strategy
and plan of action to complete the work for the reconstruction of
Venthodampadi- Muthanthandu bridge in a time bound manner pending disposal
of the writ petition.
This petition coming on for admission upon perusing the petition and
the affidavit filed in support of WP(C) and upon hearing the arguments of
M/S ROSHEN.D.ALEXANDER, TINA ALEX THOMAS & HARIMOHAN, Advocates for the
petitioner, SRI.K.P. HARISH, SENIOR GOVERNMENT PLEADER for R1 to R5 and of
SRI.EBIN MATHEW, STANDING COUNSEL for R7, the court passed the following:
P.T.O.
WP(C) No.8140/2022 2 / 10
S. MANIKUMAR, C. J. & SHAJI P. CHALY, J.
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W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022
======================================
Dated this the 11th day of March, 2022
ORDER
S. Manikumar, C. J.
Kerala Legal Services Authority, represented by its Member Secretary, Ernakulam, has instituted the instant public interest writ petition, for a mandamus directing the Principal Secretary to the Government, Local Self Government Department, Thiruvananthapuram, the Principal Secretary to the Government, Finance Department, Thiruvananthapuram, the Principal Secretary to the Government, Public Works Department, Thiruvananthapuram, and the Chief Engineer, Local Self Government Institutions (EW), Thiruvananthapuram, respondents 1 to 4, to immediately reconstruct Venthodampadi - Muthanthandu bridge, in a time bound manner, within a period fixed by this Court.
2. Petitioner has also sought for a further direction that delay occurred in reconstructing Venthodampadi - Muthanthandu bridge, due to the inaction at various levels of governance, is violative of the WP(C) No.8140/2022 3 / 10 W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022 -2- rights of the citizen under Article 19(1)(d) and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
3. Short facts leading to the writ petition are as hereunder:-
a) Petitioner herein is the Kerala State Legal Services Authority constituted under the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Petitioner prefers this writ petition as Public Interest Litigation, seeking indulgence of this Court to direct the respondents herein, who are none other than the State and its instrumentalities, for the purpose of issuance of appropriate direction for the reconstruction of Venthodampadi-Muthanthandu bridge, connecting Kalikavu and Chokkad Grama Panchayats, respondents 7 and 8 respectively, which was completely destroyed during the flood of 2018.
b) According to the petitioner, from 2018 onwards, destruction of the bridge in the flood has badly affected the day-to-day life of the local inhabitants and villagers of both the Panchayats. The inhabitants and local people of these two Panchayats are finding it difficult to travel between these two Panchayats. Due to the relentless attempts of the local villagers, the State Government has included reconstruction work of the Venthodampadi - Muthanthandu Bridge in the budget for WP(C) No.8140/2022 4 / 10 W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022 -3- the financial year 2020-2021, and also released an amount of Rs.20 Lakhs, being 20% of the estimate. Even after the lapse of 3 years, the reconstruction work of the Venthodampadi - Muthanthandu Bridge, which is entrusted to the Local Self Government Department, has not commenced.
c) Petitioner has submitted that the Kalikavu Grama Panchayat, the 7th respondent, by virtue of Ext. P2, had decided to request the District Panchayat, Malappuram, the 6th respondent, to prepare the necessary design and estimate for the reconstruction of the bridge.
Though by virtue of Ext. P3, Ext. P2 decision was communicated to the 6th respondent District Panchayat, it was never acted upon. Since, pursuant to Ext. P3, no action was taken with respect to the reconstruction of Venthodampadi - Muthanthandu Bridge; a student of the Village, namely Sri. Ajmal Shah, represented his grievance before the Hon'ble Minister for Local Self Government Department, for and on behalf of all the local residents, by virtue of Ext. P4. In addition to that, petitioner in Ext. P4 also submitted representation to the Hon'ble Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, for which Ext.P5 and Ext.P6 letters were issued to the petitioner, informing that his representations were forwarded to the Ministers of concerned WP(C) No.8140/2022 5 / 10 W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022 -4- Departments.
d) Petitioner has further submitted that pursuant to Exts. P5 and P6, the Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, informed the Superintending Engineer, Public Works Department, by virtue of Ext.P7, that the Venthodampadi - Muthanthandu Bridge, is not coming under the Public Works Department, and since the Local Self Government Department has taken steps to complete the said project, it is appropriate to complete the construction of the Bridge through Local Self Government Department. It was also informed that, if required, the investigation details shall be handed over to the Local Self Government Department.
e) It is further submitted that be that as it may, when petitioner in Ext. P4 submitted Ext. P8 application under the Right to Information Act, 2005, it was replied by the Public Information Officer of the District Panchayat, the 6th respondent, by virtue of Ext.P9 that no estimate or investigation was prepared by the Engineering section, and also replied that the delay was occurred only because of the fact that no administrative sanction was given to perform the said work, through the Engineering wing of the Local Self Government WP(C) No.8140/2022 6 / 10 W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022 -5- Department. It was also stated therein that without administrative sanction, Local Self Government Department cannot do anything.
f) Petitioner has also submitted that though even after allocating funds in the budget for the reconstruction of Venthodampadi- Muthanthandu Bridge, which is evident from by Exts. P1, P2, P3, P7, P10, P15, P16, P17 and P18 documents, and seeking attention of M.L.A., Ministers etc. to this matter directly as well as by submitting complaints, e-mail messages, by virtue of Exts. P10 to P19; no action is taken by the respondents stating trifling technical reasons, which is illegal and arbitrary. Finally, the student petitioner in Ext. P4 submitted Ext.P19 representation to the Kerala Legal Services Authority, the petitioner herein.
4. On this day, when the matter came up for admission, posed with the question as to whether the Kerala Legal Services Authority can institute a proceedings like the one, namely public interest writ petition, by inviting the objects of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, definition of the words 'court' and 'legal service' as defined in Sections 2(aaa) and 2(c) respectively, and by inviting the further attention of this Court to the functions of the Central Authority in WP(C) No.8140/2022 7 / 10 W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022 -6- terms of Section 4 of the Act, and the functions of the State Authority, in particular Section 7(2)(a), which states that without prejudice to the generality of the functions referred to in sub-section (1), the State Authority shall perform all or any of the performing functions, namely,
a) give legal service to persons who satisfy the criteria laid down under this Act, Mr. Roshen D. Alexander, learned counsel for the Kerala State Legal Services Authority, submitted that when 'legal service' includes the rendering of any service in the context of any case or other legal proceeding before any court or other authority or tribunal, Kerala State Legal Services Authority, constituted under Section 6 of Act 1987, has every right to render legal service, which includes conduct of any case or other proceedings before any court, and thus, the instant public interest writ petition is maintainable.
5. On the merits of this case, Mr. Roshen D. Alexander, learned counsel for the petitioner, invited the attention of this Court to the grievance expressed by the poor and weaker sections of the Society, in the matter of reconstruction of Venthodampadi-Muthanthandu Bridge, connecting Kalikavu and Chokkad Grama Panchayats, respondents 7 and 8 respectively, which bridge was totally destroyed during 2018 floods.
WP(C) No.8140/2022 8 / 10W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022 -7-
6. Submission has also been made that despite various representations, the authorities have failed to fulfill their legal obligation to provide a safe bridge. According to him, statutory provisions such as 166, 167 and 169 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, speak about vesting of all public roads in the Village Panchayats, and the duties.
7. We have gone through the averments made in the statement of facts and the supporting documents.
8. We find that there is a genuine cause exposed on behalf of the needy.
9. Notwithstanding the issue of locus standi raised by this Court, taking note of the averments, documents, the need of the people to have a bridge reconstructed, for connecting two Panchayats as stated supra, we are also of the view that on the basis of the above, even a suo motu writ petition can be instituted by this Court, for response from the Government and others.
10. In such a view of the matter, we direct Mr. K. P. Harish, learned Senior Government Pleader, to take notice on behalf of respondents 1 to 5, and respond to the averments and the prayers WP(C) No.8140/2022 9 / 10 W. P. (C) No. 8140 of 2022 -8- sought for.
Notice to the District Panchayat, Malappuram, Kalikavu Grama Panchayat, Malappuram and Chokkad Grama Panchayat, Malappuram, respondents 6 to 8 respectively, by speed post, returnable in three weeks.
Sd/-
S. MANIKUMAR CHIEF JUSTICE Sd/-
SHAJI P. CHALY JUDGE Eb 11-03-2022 /True Copy/ Assistant Registrar WP(C) No.8140/2022 10 / 10 APPENDIX OF WP(C) 8140/2022 Exhibit P1 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER DTD. 20.01.2021 ISSUED BY MLA, VANDOOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF 7TH RESPONDENT PANCHAYAT. Exhibit P2 TRUE COPY OF DECISION AS AGENDA NO.2/2 DTD. 30.01.2021 TAKEN BY THE 7TH RESPONDENT PANCHAYAT.
Exhibit P3 TRUE COPY OF LETTER BEARING NO. A2-119/20-21 DTD.
30.03.2021 ISSUED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE 7TH RESPONDENT PANCHAYAT.
Exhibit P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION DTD. 14.06.2021 SENT BY A STUDENT OF THE VILLAGE NAMELY AJMAL SHAH P, PALIANKARA HOUSE, VENTHODAMPADI P.O., 676 525. Exhibit P5 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER BEARING NO.309/0S/2021 DTD.
25.06.2021.
Exhibit P6 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER BEARING NO. 309/0S A1/2021 DTD.
01.07.2021.
Exhibit P7 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER BEARING NO.EE/BR/MINISTER COMPLAINT/2021 DTD. 13.08.2021 ISSUED BY THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER TO THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER.
Exhibit P8 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION UNDER THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT DTD. 05.08.2021.
Exhibit P9 TRUE COPY OF THE REPLY DTD. 24.08.2021 ISSUED BY THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, MALAPPURAM.
Exhibit P10 TRUE COPY OF THE ANSWER GIVEN BY THE MINISTER TO THE UNSTARRED QUESTION BEARING NO. 346 DTD. 04.08.2021 OF THE SECOND MEETING ON THE 15TH ASSEMBLY AND COMMUNICATED BY THE MLA, VANDOOR TO THE APPLICANT IN EXT.P8.
Exhibit P11 TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION DTD. 30.08.2021 SUBMITTED BEFORE THE MINISTER INCHARGE OF THE MALAPPURAM DISTRICT.
Exhibit P12 TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION DTD. 10.09.2021 BEFORE THE HON'BLE CHIEF MINISTER.
Exhibit P13 TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION DTD. 07.10.2021 SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, MALAPPURAM.
Exhibit P14 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER BEARING NO.PWD-D1/403/2021-PWD DTD. 12.10.2021 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT TO THE 4TH RESPONDENT.
Exhibit P15 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER BEARING NO.DA3/134/2021/LSGD DTD. 22.10.2021.
Exhibit P16 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER DTD. 26.10.2021 TO THE ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE ENGINEER.
Exhibit P17 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER BEARING NO.G3-1547/2021(2) DTD.
05.11.2021.
Exhibit P18 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER BEARING NO.EE/BR/D2/COMPLAINT/2021 DTD. 25.11.2021. Exhibit P19 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER DATED 20/10/2021 SUBMITTED BY A STUDENT NAMELY AJMAL SHAH.