The judgment establishes the principle of 'PUBLIC TRUST' and emphasizes the duty of the State to maintain natural resources for the benefit of the public and the preservation of ecology.

N. Kirubakaran, J.

1. The CELELSTEAL MARRIAGE of LORDSHIVA and GODDESS PARVATHI was celebrated in Mount Himalayas. Everyone on the Earth wanted to have a glimpse of the divine celebration and thronged the Himalayas thereby the northern side of the Earth went down. To balance the Southern side, Lord Shiva sent "Sage Agasthya" to South. The place where "Sage Agasthya" landed is called "COURTALLAM", where the falls lands is the subject matter of the writ petition. This is the mythological story about "COURTALLAM".

2. NATURE exhibits its magnificent beauty in myriad ways and one such wonderful form is FALLS.

Viewing the Falls is mesmerising; Hearing its sound is enthralling;

Bathing in the Falls is electrifying;

ANGEL FALLS in Venezuela is the tallest falls at 979 m. "COURTALLAM" is well-known for its Natural Falls and called as "Spa of South India" or "Poorman's Ooty". Courtallam is located at an elevation of about 167 kilometers in the main elevation of Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu which is home to numerous rare flora and fauna. Chittar River, Pachaiyar, Manimutharu and Tamaraparani originate here. There are many Falls and Cascades, which form the exceptional beautiful background near the temple. It looks like the rhythmic sounds of the falls provides natural music to the cosmic dance of God Shiva , who is believed to be dancing in one of the five Sabhas, namely Chitra Sabha located in Arulmighu Courtalla Nathar Thirukoil The other Sabhas, known as Dancing Halls of Lord Shiva, are Golden Sabha at Chidambaram, Rathina Sabha at Thiruvalangadu, Silver Sabha at Madurai and Copper (Thamiram )Sabha at Tirunelveli. Saint Sambandar praises the God of "Courtallam" as "Kurumpala Eswarar" in Thevaram.

“LANGUAGE”

The above song in "Thirukkutrala Kuravanji" written by Thirikuda Rasappa Kavirayar says that sins would go off by having bath in the Courtallam falls which is equal to river Ganga. When such is the glory and beauty of falls in Courtallam, the present day position is pathetic and abysmal, which compelled the petitioner to approach this Court by way Public Interest Litigation, seeking proper maintenance of the Falls.

3. According to the petitioner, the Falls in Courtallam are Natural Falls and they deserve proper maintenance and care. During the season, namely in the middle of May, several lakhs of people throughout South India, visit the place to enjoy the pleasure of taking bath in the Falls, which have medicinal effects for physical as well as mental health. When the petitioner visited Courtallam in the second week of May, 2013, he was shocked to find that the place lacks basic amenities and proper security for the visiting public during the season. According to the petitioner, there is no proper Police Force found to regulate the visitors, the traffic is uncontrollable and not regulated despite levying heavy charges; There are no rooms available for changing clothes for both men and women, who are compelled to change their dress in open places; For the huge crowd, which is visiting Courtallam, there are no sufficient and strong barricades to protect them in the Falls area; There are several holes and cavities in the bath area and the place lacks proper maintenance by the authorities; Many people got fractures while taking bath and there is no feasible mode to control the huge crowd.

4. That apart, there is not even a First Aid Centre available in Courtallam to provide medical facilities and life saving measures in case of emergency; There is no rescue operation team provided to safeguard the life and property of the visiting public; Some people, come in mobs, and consume liquor openly on roads by parking their vehicles and the public, especially, women and children, are unable to walk on the public road to reach the Falls; People are allowed to take bath after consuming liquor, which, sometimes, results in death; There is drunken driving in the area resulting in many accidents; The fee collected for parking vehicles is