THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE
LL.M. (Two Year Course)
Wednesday Seminar III
(25.08.10)
(10.00am - 12.15 pm)
Khalid Mundappilly v. Executive Engineer
Moderator : Rashmi.R
Presenter : M. Ramesh
Discussants: Krishna Kumar and Navditya Tanwar
Rapporteur : Saransh Jain
I. Facts
A PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION was filed by a resident of Aluva challenging the permission granted by the respondents to hold public meeting on the P.W.D. road in front of Aluva Railway Station in Kerala. Petitioner produced several photographs showing the stage constructed on the side of road which partly occupied the tarred portion of the road and people sitting in large number in chairs on tarred portion of the public road, blocking the traffic and causing inconvenience to the public. The photographs produced also show that the Aluva road is busiest in the town. Therefore, the petitioner prayed for prohibting the holding of meetings on roads and road margins in future.
II. Judgment
After considering the facts of the case, the Kerala High Court decided to issue prohibitory orders against holding meetings on the public roads and road margins to ensure free flow of vehicles as well as to prevent loss of lives and injury to the people in the event of rash vehicles running into people assembled in meeting on roadside. However the court felt that the prohibitory order shall not only be benificial to the users of Aluva road but also to the people of the state of Kerala as a whole. Therefore, for effective implementation of the order, the court made the government as additional respondent. However, assuming that the government cannot have any objection against the court which is protecting public interest and lives of people, it was held that there was no necessity to hear the respondent since holding meetings on public roads and road margins itself is illegal. The court also felt that delay in the issuance of general prohibitory order would tantamount to delay in rendering justice to the people and in the interest of public the court instructed the Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala to issue instructions to the Director General of Police, departments of P.W.D, revenue and local administration to implement the judgment.
III. Issues
1. Whether the imposition of prohibition against holding meetings in public roads and road margins would amount to violation of freedoms guaranteed under article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution of India?
2. Whether the court, in the instant case, is justified in reaching a priori conclusion that the state cannot have any objection in this matter and accordingly imposing general prohibitory orders against holding meetings in public roads and road margins without giving to the state a responsible opportunity to be heard?
3. Is the court justified in passing a general prohibitory order, so as to be applicable to whole of the state, against holding of the meetings on public roads without confining to the relief sought by the petitioner in the instant case? Whether such general prohibitory order would amount to judicial legislation which leaves no discretion for the executive?
Suggested Readings:
1. Durga Das Basu, Shorter Constitution of India 247-311 (Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur, New Delhi, 14th edn., 2009).
2. J.N. Pandey, The Constitutional Law of India 169-203 (Central Law Agency, Allahabad, 45th edn., 2008).
3. Mahendra P. Singh, V.N. Shukla’s Constitution of India 134-147 (Eastern Book Co., Lucknow, 11th edn., 2008).
4. M.P. Jain & S.N. Jain, Principles of Administrative Law 385-445 (Wadhwa and Company, Nagpur, 6th edn., 2007).
5. C.K. Takwani, Lectures on Administrative Law 187-211 (Eastern Book Co, Lucknow, 4th edn., 2008).
