The court emphasized that municipal authorities must act promptly on complaints related to dangerous trees threatening citizen safety, especially regarding vulnerable individuals, as mandated under the Kerala Municipalities Act.

JUDGMENT :

P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, J.

This Writ Petition (C) is filed seeking the following reliefs:

" (i) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ directing the 3^rd respondent to implement Exhibit-P6 order issued by the 2^nd respondent.

(ii) Issue an order or direction to the 3^rd respondent to take effective steps to act in accordance with Section 412 , 427 and 428 of the Kerala Municipalities Act ."

[SIC]

2. Mr C.J. Mathews is a 92-year-old man. This nonagenarian has been fighting for a genuine cause for the last 9 years. He apprehends an imminent danger to his property and his residential building because of certain trees standing on the neighbouring property. Mr C.J. Mathews, a nonagenarian, is fighting at multiple levels of bureaucracy to have those trees cut and removed. Although he failed, he continues to fight, and at last he has knocked on the doors of this court. When I see the fighting mood of Mr C.J. Mathew, I recall the famous poem by the freedom fighter Sree T.S. Thirumumbu titled

(My Youth), written decades back. It will be better to extract the four lines of the above poem:

3. I am not attempting to translate these strong words of the legend Sree T.S. Thirumumb to English because I may not be able to convey the same in that spirit. But for the purpose of this judgment, I will say the brief message in it. The poet says that, greying my head is not my old age, and also not greying my head is not my youthfulness. The poet again states that counting the days from birth to the final day of life is not a measure of my youthfulness. The poet firmly says that the courage to never bow his head to the tyranny of bureaucracy during that time was his youthfulness. These words speak volumes. This message is intended for older adults and younger people: “age is no barrier to anything; it is a limitation you put on your mind and a lack of enthusiasm that holds you back”.

4. I will narrate the interesting story of Mr C.J. Mathew, the fighter, in brief first. Mr C.J. Mathews is a retired official of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, and he served the country for about three decades. He is the absolute owner and in possession of 4.2 cents of land comprised in Sy. No.660/1-4 of Rameswaram Village in Kochi Taluk. Petitioner resides in a building located on the said property. Ext.P1 is the tax receipt issued in the name of the petitioner from the Village Office, Rameswaram. Towards the southern side of the petitioner’s property, there is a vacant plot of 7 cents, which was previously owned by the father of the 5^th respondent, Late Harihara Menon. After his death, the said property is in the possession and enjoyment of the 5^th respondent. Ext.P2 is produced to show the sketch of the properties belonging to the petitioner and the 5^th respondent. After the death of the 5^th respondent’s father, it is the case of the petitioner that the 5^th respondent and other co-owners of the property are not interested in taking care of the property, and thus the property is fully covered with trees, bushes and unwanted plants. The property is now a comfortable home for dangerous snakes and other reptiles, says C J Mathew. Two tall trees, comparatively bigger in size, are situated in the 5^th respondent’s property near the boundary that demarcates the petitioner’s property and the 5^th respondent’s property. Petitioner produced Exts.P3 and P4 photographs to show the present state of affairs of the property. In Ext.P4, the lie and nature of the petitioner’s residential house and the property belonging to the 5^th respondent are visible. It is the case of the petitioner that the roots and branches of the trees in the property of the 5th respondent cause a