The Government cannot act in an arbitrary manner in deleting provisions empowering panel engineers to issue Structural Soundness Certificates for Cinema theatres without any material to support such deletion.

1. The writ petitions are for the issue of writ of certiorari to call for the records of the respondent made in G.O.Ms. No. 44, Home (Cinemas-A) Department dated 1. 1991 and quash the same.

2. As the facts in both the writ petitions are one and the same, the following common order is passed.

3. Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners has argued that the petitioners are graduates in Engineering who are included in the panel of Engineers approved by the Board of Engineers and maintained by the District Collectors under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Public Buildings (Licensing) Rules, 1966. The petitioners were involved in the construction of cinema theatres and they have constructed many theatres. Learned Senior Counsel has argued that “Public Buildings” are defined under Section 2(8) of the Tamil Nadu Public Buildings (Licensing) Act, 1965 which did not include ‘cinema theatres’ as the class of buildings constituting cinema theatres were to be approved under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Cinema (Regulation) Act. Learned Senior Counsel has further argued that as per the provisions of the above Act, the owner of a public building who intends to use any building as a public building is required to make an application to the competent authority for a licence which is to be accompanied by a Certificate of Structural Soundness in the prescribed form obtained from an Engineer. “Engineer” is defined under Section 2(3) of the Act to mean any person possessing such Engineering qualifications as may be prescribed. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that in terms of Section 25 of the Act, the Tamil Nadu Public Buildings (Licensing) Rules, 1966 were framed which specified the details of the Engineering qualification for the purpose of the Act. According to the petitioners the said Rules were amen ded in the year 1970 to provide for a panel of registered Engineers to be drawn for each District by the Collector of the said District with the concurrence of the Superintending Engineer of the Public Works Department. The said panel of private Engineers possessing the qualifications specified in the Table to Rule 11 of the amended Rules were to be registered under four classes for each District depending upon which was related to the class of buildings. Hence as per the amended Rules, Structural Soundness Certificate is to be issued only by an Engineer whose name found a place in the panel of registered Engineers approved by the Board of Engineers and maintained by the District Collectors under the provisions of the Act and the Rules. Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners are private Engineers possessing the qualifications specified in the Table to Rule 11 of the Rules whose names have been included in the panel of registered Engineers for the District concerned which had been drawn and maintained by the Collector of the District with the concurrence of the Superintending Engineer of the Public Words Department. The petitioners have been empowered to inspect and issue a Certificate of Structural Soundness as required under the Tamil Nadu Public Buildings (Licensing) Act, 1965 so as to enable public buildings to be licensed for the use of the public. Learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners has brought to the notice of this court the provisions of Section 2(8) of the Tamil Nadu Public Building (Licensing) Act which defines ‘Public Building’. Public Building means any building—

.(a) used as a —

.(i) school (including a tutorial school) or college (including a tutorial college) or University or other educational institution;

.(ii) hostel;

(iii) library;

.(iv) hospital, nursing home, dispensary, clinic or maternity centre;

.(v) club;

.(vi) lodging house, boarding house or hotel; or

(vii) choultry;

(b) ordinarily used for public meeting or for celebrating marriage functions or for holding parties.

The cinema theatres are not included in the above definition. In view of the fact that