IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.S.GOPINATHAN FRIDAY, THE 13TH AUGUST 2010 / 22ND SRAVANA 1932 RP.No. 700 of 2010() -------------------- AGAINST THE JUDGEMENT/ORDER IN WPC.19253/2010 .................... REVIEW PETITIONER(S): ---------------------- T.N. PRATHAPAN, M.L.A., SON OF LATE NARAYANAN, THOTTUNGAL HOUSE, TALIKULAM, THRISSUR DIST. BY ADV. SRI.K.RAMAKUMAR, SENIOR ADVOCATE SRI.T.RAMPRASAD UNNI SMT.SMITHA GEORGE SRI.C.R.REKHESH SHARMA RESPONDENT(S): --------------- 1. SRI. KHALID MUNDAPPILLY, MUNDAPPILLY HOUSE, EDAYAPURAM, ALUVA P.O., 683 101, ERNAKULAM DIST. 2. THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PWD ROADS DIVISION, ERNAKULAM, THRIKKAKARA P.O., KOCHI 682 030 3. THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE (RURAL), ALUVA 683 1010 ERNAKULAM DIST. 4. THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.PIN R1 BY ADV. SRI. T.R. RAJAN. R2 TO R4 BY DGP SRI. K.K. RAVINDRANATH. THIS REVIEW PETITION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 30/07/2010, THE COURT ON 13.8.2010 PASSED THE FOLLOWING: C .N. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR, & P.S. GOPINATHAN, JJ. -------------------------------------------- R. P. No. 700 of 2010 in W.P.C. No. 19253 of 2010 -------------------------------------------- Dated this the 13th day of August, 2010 O R D E R Ramachandran Nair, J. This is a review petition filed by a sitting MLA of the Kerala Assembly. We have heard senior counsel Sri. K. Ramakumar appearing for the petitioner and counsel appearing for the respondent including additional respondents impleaded. Even though petitioner is elected under Congress ticket, on our question, counsel specifically stated that petitioner is not representing his party and review petition is filed in his individual capacity. The grounds raised are almost the same or similar to the grounds raised in the Review Petition filed by the State. We dismissed the Review Petition filed by the State vide our order passed today in R.P.No. 670 of 2010. Therefore we do not wish to reconsider those grounds though senior counsel appearing for the petitioner raised the very same grounds. One another point raised by senior counsel appearing for the petitioner is that prohibition of RP 700 of 2010 2 meetings on roadside contained in the judgment prohibits holding of meeting in Maidans or vacant grounds on roadside. In our view, this ground is raised only on a misunderstanding of the judgment by the review petitioner. In fact, State in their review petition does not have a case that the judgment prohibits meetings in Maidans on roadside. In any case, for the sake of this review petitioner, we clarify the judgment by stating that roadside at one or two places referred to in the judgment is nothing but road margins referred at other places in the judgment and does not take in any maidan or ground by the side of any road. In fact, road margin is only the narrow space provided on either side of the tarred portion of the road for use by padestrians, animals, etc. Referring to the observation in the judgment under review that meetings should be held in auditoriums, or vacant land or grounds including school play grounds available on holidays, the contention of the petitioner's counsel is that in petitioner's constituency, that is in Nattika, there are no grounds available. We are unable to accept this position because Nattika Constituency in Trichur District is not known as a backward area in the State. Schools are spread all over the State RP 700 of 2010 3 and petitioner's contention that there is no open space in his constituency for holding meeting is not convincing. In any case, if the petitioner's constituency is thoroughly a backward constituency, it is for the petitioner to take up the matter with local authority or Government for acquiring land for construction of maidans or auditoriums. Non-availability of maidan or auditorium for holding meetings will not justify holding of meetings on public roads and road margins, which we have found in our order in R.P. No. 670 of 2010 as impermissible. We therefore dismiss this Review Petition. (C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR) Judge. (P.S. GOPINATHAN) Judge. kk RP 700 of 2010 4