JUDGMENT :

(MURALI PURUSHOTHAMAN, J.)

The petitioner is a permanent resident of Alappad Grama Panchayat. According to him, certain rooms of the Panchayat Shopping Complex auctioned to respondents 4 to 13 have been subleased by them to others contrary to Clause 23 of Ext. P1 bye- laws. The petitioner, therefore, approached the 1^st respondent, the Ombudsman for Local Self Government Institutions('Ombudsman' for short) and the Ombudsman, by Ext.P5 order, closed the complaint preferred by the petitioner based on the statement filed by the Secretary of the Panchayat that there is no sublease of the rooms by respondents 4 to 13. The Ombudsman also recorded the submission of the Secretary that in case there is any sublease by respondents 4 to 13, contrary to the bye-laws, appropriate action would be taken. According to the petitioner, the Ombudsman without considering the contentions of the petitioner, blindly accepted the version of the Secretary and closed the complaint and thereby permitted respondents 4 to 13 to conduct business in the shop rooms of the Panchayat through benamis in violation of Clause 23 of Ext. P1 bye-laws. This writ petition is therefore filed to quash Ext.P5 order of