Kerala High Court
M/S. Hilltop Aggregates vs The Secretary, Kannambra Grama ... on 13 March, 2026
Author: P.V.Kunhikrishnan
Bench: P.V.Kunhikrishnan
WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN
FRIDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF MARCH 2026 / 22ND PHALGUNA, 1947
WP(C) NO. 37149 OF 2025
PETITIONER/S:
M/S. HILLTOP AGGREGATES
DOOR NO.XI/731, SOORYA COMPLEX, KALADY P.O,
ALUVA, ERNAKULAM REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING
PARTNER SRI.SATHEESH V.S, PIN - 683587
BY ADVS.
SHRI.PHILIP J.VETTICKATTU
SMT.NEENU BERNATH
SHRI.SAJU S. DOMINIC
RESPONDENT/S:
1 THE SECRETARY, KANNAMBRA GRAMA PANCHAYAT
KANNAMBRA GRAMA PANCHAYAT KANNAMBRA P.O
PALAKKAD, PIN - 678686
2 BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LIMITED (BPCL)
HEAD OF PIPELINE DIVISION, IRUMPANAM, KOCHI,
PIN-682309 (IS IMPLEADED AS PER THE ORDER
DATED 16/01/2026 IN I.A NO1/2025 IN
WP(C)37149/2025)
BY ADVS.
SRI.SOJAN MICHEAL
SRI.CHACKO SIMON
SHRI.DELWIN B.P.
SHRI.SIVASANKAR
SHRI.M.GOPIKRISHNAN NAMBIAR
SHRI.K.JOHN MATHAI
SRI.JOSON MANAVALAN
WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025
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SRI.KURYAN THOMAS
SHRI.PAULOSE C. ABRAHAM
SHRI.RAJA KANNAN
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR
ADMISSION ON 13.03.2026, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY
DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025
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P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, J
--------------------------------
W.P(C) No. 37149 of 2025
-------------------------------
Dated this the 13th day of March, 2026
JUDGMENT
The above Writ Petition (C) is filed with the following prayers:
"i. Issue a Writ of Certiorari, or any other writ, order or direction quashing Ext.P14;
ii. Declare that the petitioner is entitled to get license under section 232 of the Act 1994;
iii. Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction directing the respondent to grant license under section 232 of the Act 1994 and issue the certificate of such license, forthwith; Or In the alternative iv. Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction directing the respondent to dispose of the application for license under section 232 untrammelled by / without referring to the reason mentioned in Ext.P14;
v. To grant such other reliefs as this Hon'ble Court may deem just and fit in the circumstances of the case; and vi. To dispense with filing of the translation of vernacular documents."
[SIC] WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 4 2026:KER:22791
2. The petitioner obtained Ext.P1 letter of intent for conducting quarrying operations in an extent of 2.3611 hectares of land comprised under Re-survey Nos.381/6, 381/59, 381/64, 381/66 of Block No.35 of Kannambra Village, Alathur Taluk, Palakkad District from the competent authority. Thereafter, the petitioner approached the Kannambra Grama Panchayat seeking permission under Section 233 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (for short 'Act 1994') read with Rule 12 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Issue of License to Factories, Trades, Entrepreneurship Activities and other Services) Rules, 1996 (for short 'Rules 1996'). Since the Panchayat did not communicate any order either granting or rejecting the application within the stipulated time, the petitioner approached this Court by filing W.P.(C) No.27264/2024, seeking statutory right of deemed license under Section 236(3) of the Act 1994. The respondent, defended the Writ Petition for the reasons interalia that the proposed site is lying near to a Gas pipeline drawn by the Bharat Petroleum Limited and that quarrying is prohibited in such area. It is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner replied it by producing documents issued by the competent authority stating that there is no objection for WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 5 2026:KER:22791 conducting quarrying operations because of the proximity of the pipeline. The Writ Petition was allowed by this Court by rejecting the objections raised by the respondent, is the submission. In compliance of the judgment, permission under Section 233 of the Act 1994, was granted. Upon getting such permission, the petitioner submitted an application for license under Section 232 of the Act 1994, r/w Rule 5 of the Rules 1996, which was considered and rejected by the Panchayat instead of the competent authority i.e., the Secretary, is the submission. The order of rejection was again challenged by the petitioner before this Court by filing W.P.(C) No.15216/2025. The said Writ Petition was allowed by this Court by quashing the order passed by the Panchayat and directing the respondent herein to dispose of the application. Now the respondent Secretary, rejected the application again for the sole reason that the proposed site is lying near to the pipeline drawn by the BPCL, which was earlier raised at the stage of Section 233 and rejected by this Court in W.P.(C) No.27264/2024, to which the respondent is also a party, is the submission.
Aggrieved by the same, this Writ Petition is filed.
3. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 6 2026:KER:22791 petitioner, the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Panchayat and the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the 2nd respondent.
4. The petitioner is challenging Ext.P14 order. This Court perused the same. The only reason for rejecting the application is that a pipeline drawn by BPCL is there near the proposed site.
5. When this Writ Petition came up for consideration before this Court on 11.03.2026, this Court directed the Standing Counsel appearing for the 2 nd respondent to get instructions as to whether necessary information is communicated as directed in Ext.P12. The Standing Counsel made available a letter bearing No.BPCL/CCKPL/01 dated 06.01.2025. It will be better to extract the same:
"BPCL/CCKPL/01 06.01.2025 To, The District Collector, District Collectorate office, Palakkad-678001, Kerala.
Subject: Carrying our blasting activities 150 meter away from BPCL-CCK Pipeline for Quarrying of Granite Building Stone at Kannambra 1 Alathur Taluk.
Reference: Letter from District Collector Office WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 7 2026:KER:22791 DCPKD/13472/2022-D3, dated: 04.12.2024, received on 04.01.2025 Respected Madam, With reference to the above-mentioned communication regarding the proposed blasting activities for granite building stone quarrying at Kannambra 1, Alathur Taluk, a site inspection was conducted, revealing that the quarry site is approximately 150 meters from the nearest point of the BPCL Cochin- Coimbatore-Karur (CCK) Pipeline. In accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (P&MP) Act, 1962, the proposed quarry site is situated outside the Right of Use (ROU) area of the pipeline, Issuance of the NOC does not come under the purview of BPCL CCK Pipelines.
However, it is important to highlight that under Section 15 of the P&MP Act, 1962 (as amended in 2011), any person is strictly prohibited from intentionally damaging, displacing, or destroying a pipeline. Violation of these provisions may attract penalties as specified in the Act. We strongly urge that appropriate safety precautions be implemented to prevent any adverse impact of the proposed quarry project on the CCK Pipeline infrastructure.
The following safety precautions as per BPCL ROU Guidelines for blasting operations within 500 meters of a pipeline shall be considered as the proposed quarry is the proximity to the pipeline, which include but are not limited to:
1. A pre-work survey must be conducted by an accredited third-party surveyor before commencing WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 8 2026:KER:22791 any blasting activity. This survey should include a written report detailing any special conditions and proposed adjustments to the blasting plan to prevent potential damage to the BPCL CCK Pipeline.
2. A seismic monitoring unit should be installed directly above the BPCL CCK Pipeline and covered with sandbags if soil conditions do not permit proper insertion. The Peak Particle Velocity (PPV) at the pipeline must not exceed two (2) inches per second (IPS). The pipeline operator must be notified immediately if any PPV readings approach or exceed this limit.
We request that these guidelines and safety measures deemed necessary be made mandatory while processing the application of the proposed quarrying operations to ensure the safety of both the public and the pipeline infrastructure.
Thanking you, Yours sincerely, For Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited,"
In the light of the same, I think the reasoning mentioned in Ext.P14 will not stand. Therefore, this Writ Petition is allowed in the following manner:
1. Ext.P14 is set aside.
2. The 1st respondent is directed to consider Ext.P6 application, if it is otherwise in order, dehors the reason mentioned in Ext.P14 in WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 9 2026:KER:22791 the light of the proviso to Rule 6 of the Rules 1996, as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment.
Sd/-
P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN
JUDGE
DM
Judgment reserved NA
Date of judgment 13.03.2026
Judgment dictated 13.03.2026
Draft Judgment Placed 13.03.2026
Final Judgment Uploaded 13.03.2026 WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 10 2026:KER:22791 APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO. 37149 OF 2025 PETITIONER EXHIBITS EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER OF INTENT BR.NO.7866/M3/2021, DATED 08/04/2022 ISSUED BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE DATED 22/01/2024 GRANTED BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE EXPLOSIVE LICENSE DATED 26/03/2024, WHICH IS VALID UPTO 31/03/2028 GRANTED TO THE PETITIONER BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE CONSENT TO OPERATE DATED 24/04/2024, WHICH IS VALID UPTO 22/01/2029 ISSUED BY THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT DATED 14-3-2025, GRANTING PERMISSION EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION DATED 11/03/2025 SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER FOR LICENSE UNDER SECTION 232 OF THE ACT 1994, R/W RULE 5 OF THE RULES 1996 AND THE COVERING LETTER SANS THE DOCUMENTS PRODUCED ALONG WITH THE APPLICATION EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE DEMAND DRAFT DRAWN TOWARDS LICENSE FEE OF RS.25,000/-, DATED 11/03/2025, EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE RECEIPT ACKNOWLEDGING THE SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION AND SHOWING DELIVERY DATE AS 19-3-2025 ISSUED FROM THE OFFICE OF THE RESPONDENT EXHIBIT P9 TRUE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT DATED 26-3- 2025 EXHIBIT P10 TRUE COPY OF THE DECISION OF THE PANCHAYAT BEARING NO.7(1), DATED 26- 3- 2025 EXHIBIT P11 TRUE COPY OF THE COUNTER AFFIDAVIT WP(C) NO.37149 OF 2025 11 2026:KER:22791 FILED BY THE RESPONDENT IN W.P.(C) NO.15216/2025 DATED 11/06/2025 EXHIBIT P12 TRUE COPY OF THE REPLY AFFIDAVIT FILED BY THE PETITIONER TO THE COUNTER AFFIDAVIT FILED BY THE RESPONDENT IN W.P.(C) NO.15216/2025 DATED 04/07/2025 EXHIBIT P13 TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT PASSED BY THIS HON'BLE COURT IN W.P.(C) NO.15216/2025 DATED 19/08/2025 EXHIBIT P14 TRUE COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT DATED 03/09/2025 RESPONDENT EXHIBITS EXHIBIT -R1 COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN WP C NO 27264/2024 DATED 06.03.2025