IMPORTANT POINT
The concept of right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is a very valuable right entitled to be enjoyed by all citizens in its fullest sense and extent, and the State has the duty, obligation and responsibility to protect the said right at any cost-The State has the duty to discharge its obligation as custodian of the citizens and such duties are to be carried out without any negligence and laches and with utmost responsibility and care -Such care and protection by the State makes the life of a citizen more colourful and meaningful.

1. Captioned writ petitions are materially connected, filed by petitioners, who are residents of 'Silk Nagar', Thrissur District, against the functioning of a company viz., “Steel and Industrial Forgings Ltd., a fully owned Government company and therefore, I heard them together and propose to pass a common judgment.

2. The facts and figures available from W.P.(C) No.9289/2015 are relied upon to dispose of the writ petitions. Material facts are as follows; first respondent company is engaged in the manufacture of good quality forgings. Main production machinery of the 1st respondent comprises of closed die forging hammers of 6 ton, 10 ton etc. The company also uses hydraulic trimming press, billet shearing machines and a number of oil fired and electric furnaces for socking as part of forging process. The company also manufactures forgings of the carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels etc.

3. While so, the company installed a hammer of 16 ton for the purpose of forging. Consequent to the installation of 16 ton hammer and when it is used for hammering, according to the petitioners, the entire area is shaking and the neighbouring buildings are also damaged. So also the sound emanating from the manufacturing process of hammering has become unbearable and the entire people of the locality is afraid of staying in their residential buildings. It is also pointed out that, their houses are all damaged and the buildings may collapse at any time. The operation of the 16 ton hammer started from 27.12.2014 commercially. Immediately on the use of the said hammer, people of the locality submitted Ext.P1 complaint to the 3rd respondent i.e., the District Collector, Thrissur. The 3rd respondent in turn forwarded a copy of the complaint to the District Officer of Factories and Boilers, Pollution Control Board and also to the 4th respondent Panchayat. Thereupon, officers of Factories and Boilers inspected the neighbouring buildings and detected the cracks developed on the buildings. Petitioners have produced photographs of the various houses and marked as Exts.P2 to P5 respectively. That apart it is contended that, the dust and fumes emanated from the company and noise resulted from hammering are unbearable even before the introduction of the 16 ton hammer. Petitioners and others have submitted Ext.P6 mass complaint before the President of the Panchayat on 5.2.2015, however, the same did not evoke any response. Thereupon, Ext.P7 mass petition was submitted before the Chief Minister of Kerala enumerating the difficulties and inconveniences faced by the petitioners and others. Ext.P8 representation is also submitted before the Industries Minister of the State Government dated 9.2.2015. It is also pointed out that, the 16 ton hammer is being used throughout the day and night, which is causing sleepless night to the people and interferes with the quality of life entitled to be enjoyed by the citizens. According to the petitioners, even though the Pollution Control Board authorities informed the 1st respondent to make necessary arrangements for preventing/controlling sound and dust, no action is taken by the 1st respondent. It is also the case of the petitioners that, Fire and Rescue authorities have also informed that, no precautionary measures are provided before using the 16 ton hammer.

4. While so, the 4th respondent Panchayat Committee in its meeting held on 26.12.2015 unanimously decided to prevent the user of 16 ton hammer without securing permit or licence from the Panchayat, evident from Ext.P9. On the basis of Ext.P9 order, Ext.P10 communication is issued to the 2nd respondent to stop the functioning of 16 ton hammer till such time a separate permit is secured for using the same. These are the basic background facts projected by the petitioners. Similar contentions are raised in the other writ petition also.

5. Respondents