Leave granted in S.L.P. (C) No. 11259/2000.

2. Two notifications were issued under S.25 of the Kerala Buildings Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965 (for short'the Act') - one S.R.O. No. 435/92 issued on 7.3.92 published in the Kerala Gazette on 7.4.92, which exempted in public interest the buildings of all Churches/ Mosques of all the minority religions from the provisions of S.4, 5, 7, 8,11 and 13 of the Act and another notification SRO No. 769/96 was published exempting buildings of all Dioceses, Archdioceses, Monasteries, Convents, Wakfs and Madrasas also from the provisions of S.4, 5, 7, 8,11 and 13 of the Act and amended earlier notification. A batch of Writ Petitions was filed in the High Court challenging the validity of these notifications. The High Court held that there is no application of mind by the Government in issuing the impugned notifications resulting in arbitrary exercise of the discretionary powers conferred upon a statutory authority and there is no material before the Government to exercise such exemption. In reaching this conclusion, the High Court took into consideration that the buildings of Churches or Mosques are commercially used and, therefore,