S. SIRI JAGAN, J.

1. The petitioner is running a business establishment in 8.75 cents in Resurvey No.180/2 of Puthenchira Village in Thrissur District. The building is on the eastern side of Kodungallur- Maniyankavu road. According to the petitioner, between the business establishment of the petitioner and the road, there is some space. Some autorickshaw owners are using the said space as autorickshaw stand unauthorizedly The same causes obstruction to the business establishment of the petitioner. According to the petitioner, the same is illegal and the 4th respondent-Panchayat and the Regional Transport Officer, Thrissur, are liable to see that unauthorised parking stand is vacated by the persons concerned. Although the petitioner filed complaints in this regard, respondents 1 to 4 did not take any action in respect thereof It is under the above circumstances, the petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking the following reliefs:

"(i) issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ order or direction, directing the respondents to provide protection to the life and property of the petitioner.

(ii) issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ order or direction, directing the respondents to remove the vehicles if any parked in the property owned by the petitioner."

2. Respondents 5 to 9 have filed a counter affidavit disputing the claims of the petitioner. According to them, they have been using the space as autorickshaw stand for years and the intention of the petitioner is to annex that puramboke land for himself by getting police protection. According to them, the petitioner has trespassed into the PWD road and although the authorities tried to measure the land to decide whether the petitioner has encroached into any puramboke land, the petitioner has effectively stalled the same by filing this writ petition. It is submitted that the writ petition has been filed with the oblique motive of stalling the measurement of the road to decide whether the petitioner has trespassed into the road puramboke The additional 10th respondent has got himself impleaded in this writ petition and he would support respondents 5 to 9. His grievance is that because of the pendency of this writ petition, the authorities are not taking steps to continue the measurement of the land to decide whether there is any encroachment into road puramboke. He also submits that since the autorickshaw drivers are using the said space as a parking space for years, the same should not be interfered with by this Court.

3. We have considered the rival contentions in detail.

4. In view of the disputes raised by the parties, we directed the Panchayat to report as to whether there is any approved autorickshaw stand in the place in question. The Panchayat now admits that no autorickshaw stand has been approved by the Panchayat or any-body-else. It is submitted that appropriate steps have been taken to see that no autorickshaws are parked in the place in question, insofar as no autorickshaw stand has been approved by any authorities in the space in question. It is further submitted that notices have been issued to the persons concerned to remove the autorickshaws from the space in question. The Secretary, who appeared in person pursuant to our direction, has also submitted that the police has been requested to give assistance to see that nobody uses the space in question for parking autorickshaw or any other vehicle.

In the above circumstances, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to respondents 1 to 4 to see that the space in question is not used by anybody as a parking stand either for autorickshaws or any other vehicle for parking unless the same is notified as a parking stand. But we make it clear that we have not considered the question as to whether the petitioner has encroached into the PWD road puramboke or not and we also make it clear that this judgment shall not stand in the way of the appropriate authorities taking any action for deciding whether