IMPORTANT POINTS
As per sub Rule 5 of the said Rule, when a complaint is received by the Secretary with respect to the damage caused to a building on account of an ongoing construction, he is obliged to place it before the Technical Expert Committee constituted by the Government under sub Rule 12 of the said Rule.

JUDGMENT :

Among these two writ petitions I am considering together, WP(C)No.3769/2018 has been filed by Sri. Sivanandhan alleging that the 3rd respondent-Smt. Shailabeevi is making a construction in contravention of law and without leaving sufficient setback, thus causing detriment and damage to his property and the building situated thereon.

2. According to Sri. Sivanandhan, Smt. Shailabeevi is continuing with the construction in haste because her building permit has expired on 15.02.2018 and he has thus prayed as under:

(i) To issue a Writ of Mandamus, directing the Respondent No.1 and 2 to stop the continuance of the illegal construction with the help of the 4th respondent as per Section 408 of the Municipality Act, 1994.

(ii) To issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction, directing the 2nd respondent to lock the compound of the building and the building and entrust the key to the 1st respondent.

(iii) To issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction, directing the 1st respondent not to renew the building permit which expires on 15.02.2018.

(iv) To issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction, directing the 1st respondent not to issue the completion certificate of the building and not to issue the occupancy certificate to the 3rd respondent.

3. While so, Smt. Shailabeevi filed WP(C)No.11381/2018 asserting that the construction is complete and that the Secretary of the Corporation is, therefore, obligated to issue an Occupancy Certificate for the same and also to number it. The pleadings show that she was constrained to approach this Court by filing this writ petition because, instead of granting the request made by her before the Secretary, the said Authority issued Ext.P4 memo asking her to stop the construction on the ground that she has violated the provisions of Rules 20(6) and 20(7) of the Kerala Municipality Building Rules (KMB Rules for short). Smt.Shailabeevi submits that Ext.P4 is incompetent because, on an earlier occasion, the Secretary has issued Ext.P8 order, dated 11.01.2018, finding all the afore allegations to be untenable and that Ext.P4 has been issued merely based on the unsubstantiated allegations made by Sri.Sivanandhan. She, therefore, prays that Ext.P4 be set aside and the Secretary of the Corporation be directed to issue the Completion Certificate for the building, as requested in Ext.P2 application.

4. I have heard Sri. C. Rajendran and Sri. B.K. Gopalakrishnan-learned counsel appearing for Sri. Sivanandhan in these two cases; Smt. V.A. Mini-learned counsel appearing for Smt. Shailabeevi and Sri. P.K. Zoyus and Sri.V.S.Sreejith-learned Standing Counsel appearing for Kochi Corporation in these cases.

5. As is ineluctable from the afore narrative, Sri.Sivanandhan alleges that Smt.Shailabeevi is making the construction in such a manner so as to cause detriment and damage to his property and the building thereon; and therefore, prays that such construction be stopped. On the contrary, Smt.Shailabeevi asserts that she has made the construction strictly in accordance with the approved building plan and permit and that if any damage has been caused to the property of Sri.Sivanandhan, it is only on account of his own transgressions in having made his construction without leaving the setback as per the KMB Rules.

6. The pleadings on record would indicate further that the parties were ready to have the alleged damage caused to Sri.Sivanandhan’s property and building assessed by a proper Committee and this is evident from the fact that the Secretary of the Corporation had issued a proceedings, namely Ext.R3(C), wherein such a consent has been recorded. In fact, it also transpires that pursuant to Ext.R3(c), a Committee, consisting of an Engineer from the Trichur Engineering College had inspected the building of Sri.Sivanandhan and had recommended that he is entitled to an amount of Rs.54,000/- towards total compensation. Smt.Shailabeevi says that thus the provision