IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No. 17022 of 2009 Date of Decision: 09.11.2009 Maharaj Kumar ..Petitioner versus Union of India and another ..Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE T.S.THAKUR,CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MAHESH GROVER 1.Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. Whether to be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Present : Petitioner in person. ***** T.S.Thakur, C.J. (Oral) A fire incident in the oil storage tanks near Jaipur (Rajasthan) is the immediate provocation for the petitioner, a resident of Chandigarh, to file the writ petition in public interest and to seek a mandamus directing Union of India and the State Government to shift the existing oil storage depots at Ambala and Hisar to some other place at a distance of 5 Kilometer from the said cities. Petitioner's apprehension is that just as the Depots at Jaipur caught fire, those at Ambala and Hisar may also become a source of danger to the inhabitants of the area should there be a similar fire incident in the said depots. CWP No. 17022 of 2009 [2] The writ petition is based entirely on an apprehension for which the petitioner has no real basis whatsoever. Simply because an oil depot has in some other part of the country caught fire does not necessarily imply that all depots need to be shifted out from their present location including those at Ambla and Hisar. There is nothing in the writ petition to suggest that the authorities concerned are not sensitive to the need for providing safety measures to prevent any fire incident. There is also nothing on record to suggest as to how the fire at Jaipur had taken place. Simply because oil and lubricants are inflammable does not necessarily mean that their storage is always hazardous even when the authorities take appropriate safety measures. In the absence of any specific averments regarding lack of such measures and the consequent danger to the inhabitants of the cities of Ambala and Hisar, we find no reason for us to interfere at this stage. Petition accordingly fails and is hereby dismissed. No costs. (T.S.THAKUR) CHIEF JUSTICE (MAHESH GROVER) JUDGE 09.11.2009 'ravinder'