The specific provisions of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act 1994 and Rules 2011 regarding building permits, regularization of illegal constructions, and deemed permits were crucial in determining the legality of the construction carried out without a permit.

JUDGMENT :

SHAJI P. CHALY, J.

The captioned writ appeal is preferred by the writ petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 1481 of 2019 challenging the judgment of the learned single Judge dated 05.10.2020, whereby the learned single Judge disposed of the writ petition directing the Secretary of the Pooyappally Grama Panchayat, the respondent herein, to take a decision in the application submitted by the appellants for regularisation after notice to the appellants and the owners of the land, including one Mr. M. Alexander within a period of two months and in that process the Panchayat was directed to verify in regard to the status of the civil suit pending by and between the parties and also the orders passed therein. It is, thus, challenging the legality and correctness of the said judgment, the appeal is preferred.

2. Brief material facts for the disposal of the writ appeal are as follows :

The first appellant is one of the members of the Governing Council and the second appellant is the President of the Parent Teachers' Association of St. Thomas High School, Punnakode, Kollam District. A building having 400 square meters was constructed in the year 2016 to accommodate hi-tech classrooms. According to the appellants, after the completion of construction, a completion report duly signed by a qualified Engineer was submitted to the Panchayat. The Panchayat, instead of allotting building number and occupancy certificate, has been delaying the matter indefinitely by stating untenable objections, is the contention.

3. The case projected by the appellant was that as evident from Ext. P11, the Government has supplied all necessary requirements essential for starting hi-tech classrooms and teaching materials. Therefore, as the Panchayat is not issuing building number and occupancy certificate, irreparable injury and loss was caused to the school. It is also submitted that, thus the development of the school and the future of the students are also seriously affected by the arbitrary conduct of the Panchayat and therefore, they sought for issuance of a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Grama Panchayat to issue a building number to the newly constructed building for the St. Thomas High School, Punnakode and also the occupancy certificate immediately.

4. The learned single Judge, during the process of adjudication, has realised that the building was constructed for the school without securing a permit from the Grama Panchayat, which is mandatorily required in accordance with the provisions of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act 1994 ("Act,1994" for convenience) and the Kerala Panchayat Building Rules, 2011 ('Rules, 2011' for convenience).

5. The sum and substance of the contention advanced by the appellants was that even though an application was submitted, the same was not considered by the Secretary of the Grama Panchayat within the time frame fixed under the Act, 1994 and the Rules, 2011 and therefore, a deemed building permit was secured by the appellants in contemplation of the law.

6. The paramount contention advanced in the appeal is that the conduct of the Secretary is biased and he is supporting other members of the Managing Committee on extraneous considerations and therefore, it was not proper on the part of the learned single Judge to relegate the appellants/writ petitioners to the Secretary of the Grama Panchayat, who owes allegiance to the other members of the Managing Committee. It is also contented in the appeal that instead of relegating the appellants to the Secretary of the Grama Panchayat, the learned single Judge should have issued a positive direction directing the respondent Panchayat to issue building number and occupancy certificate. Evidently, a civil suit is pending consideration before the Munsiff's Court, Kottarakkara as O.S. No. 451 of 2018 and orders were passed in interlocutory applications, which apparently was taken in appeal before the Sub Court, Kottarakkara and is pending as C.M.A. No