IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.J.CHELAMESWAR & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANTONY DOMINIC TUESDAY, THE 28TH JUNE 2011 / 7TH ASHADHA 1933 WA.No. 795 of 2011() -------------------- AGAINST THE JUDGEMENT IN WPC.38158/2010 Dated 23/02/2011 .................... APPELLANT(S): 3RD PARTY ------------------------------ BEENA DAYAN,PRESIDENT OF CHAVARA THEKKUMBHAGAM GRAMA PANCHAYATH,CHAVARA SOUTH.P.O, KOLLAM,PIN-691584. BY ADV. SRI.SHABU SREEDHARAN SRI.C.K.PRASAD SRI.T.S.ANURAJ RESPONDENT(S): PETITIONER AND RESPONDENT ---------------------------------------- 1. SALIM.M.A,S/O.MOHAMMED KUNJU, SALIM MANZIL,MULLIKKAL,MEMBER WARD NO.9, THEVALAKKARA GRAMA PANCHAYATH,KOLLAM DISTRICT, PIN-690524. 2. STATE OF KERALA,REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,HOME DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695001. R2 BY GOVT.PLEADER SRI.BENNY GERVACIS THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 28/06/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: APPENDIX APPELLANT'S EXHIBITS: ANNEXURE-1: COPY OF JUDGMENT IN WP(C).NO.3284/06 DATED 6.3.2006 OF DIVISION BENCH OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT. ANNEXURE-2: COPY OF NOTIFICATION GO(Rt).NO.2778/2005/HOME DATED 8.11.2005. ANNEXURE-3: COPY OF RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE THEKKUMBHAGAM GRAMA PANCHAYATH COMMITTEE DATED 27.4.2011 /TRUE COPY/ PS TO JUDGE J. CHELAMESWAR, C.J & ANTONY DOMINIC, J. ---------------------------------------------- W.A.No. 795 of 2011 ---------------------------------------------- Dated this the 28th day of June, 2011 JUDGMENT J.Chelameswar, CJ. Aggrieved by the judgment dated 23rd February, 2011 in W.P (C).No.38158 of 2010, a third party to the Writ Petition filed the instant appeal with the leave of this Court. 2. The first respondent herein filed the abovementioned Writ Petition praying that the second respondent State be compelled to implement Exhibit P2 government order dated 8.9.2010, by which the Government declared that building No.431 in Ward No.10 (Koivila Ward) of Thevalakkara Panchayath, Karunagappally Taluk, Kollam District shall be a police station known as “Chavara Thekkumbhagam Police Station”. It appears from the judgment that there exists a police station in the abovementioned Thevalakkara Panchayat, which has been functioning in a rented premises. Subsequently, the Government constructed a new building referred to in Exhibit P2 for the purpose of housing the police station. The complaint in the Writ Petition is that in spite of the decision taken by the Government, the police station referred WA.795/11 2 to above was not in fact shifted from the rented premises to the newly constructed premises and hence the Writ Petition. By the judgment under appeal, the learned Judge allowed the Writ Petition as prayed for. Hence, the appeal. 3. The appellant is the President of the Chavara Thekkumbhagam Grama Panchayat, which is also within the jurisdiction of the abovementioned police station. It appears from the records that some kind of political struggle was going on between the two Panchayats to have the police station located within the jurisdiction of each of the Panchayats. Earlier the Government took a decision in GO(Rt)No.2778/2005/Home dated 8th November, 2005 to locate the police station at the particular premises. However, for some reasons, which may not be relevant at this juncture, the Government rescinded the said order by another proceedings dated 24th November, 2005. It appears that a public interest writ Petition came to be filed in the year 2006 as W.P(C).No.3284 of 2006 praying that the police station be shifted to the place specified in the abovementioned GO(Rt) No.2778/2005/Home dated 8th November, 2005. A Division Bench of this Court dismissed the said Writ Petition clearly taking note of the fact that the decision taken by the Government as per WA.795/11 3 government order dated 8th November, 2005 referred to above was modified by a subsequent proceedings dated 24th November, 2005. The relevant portion of the said judgment reads as follows: “....Where a police station is to be situated, whether it can be shifted or not etc. cannot be decided in a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Ext.P3 notification was modified by a subsequent notification dt.24.11.2005. However, if the petitioner is aggrieved, he can make a representation to the Government pointing out all the points. We see no ground to interfere in this Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Without prejudice to the right of the petitioner to make appropriate representation, this Writ Petition is dismissed.” 4. Learned counsel for the appellant Sri.Shabu Sreedharan argues that the principle laid down by the Division Bench in W.P (C).No. 3284 of 2006 should have been applied in the instant case also and interference ought to have been declined by the learned Judge in the instant Writ Petition. 5. The submission is wholly misconceived. All that the judgment under appeal directs is the implementation of a decision taken by the Government in evidence in Exhibit P2 Government order. The earlier Division Bench decision is not an authority for the proposition that this Court would not issue a writ for the WA.795/11 4 implementation of a validly taken decision of the Government. This Court when declined to grant any direction in the earlier Writ Petition, WP(C).No.3284 of 2006, it only held that in the absence of any specific decision by Government, this Court in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution will decide the location of a police station. In the circumstances, we do not see any merit in the appeal. The Writ Appeal is, therefore dismissed at the admission stage itself. J.CHELAMESWAR, CHIEF JUSTICE ANTONY DOMINIC, JUDGE vgs