Compliance with mandatory distance requirements from schools is crucial when seeking a No Objection Certificate for petroleum outlets; noncompliance leads to denial regardless of other clearances.

JUDGMENT

1. The Petitioner wants to establish a Petroleum Retail Outlet as a Dealer of the Respondent No.4 - Oil Company. The Respondent No.4 issued Ext.P1 Letter of Intent dated 02.09.2019 to the Petitioner. Though the Respondent No.4 applied for NOC as required under Rule 144 of the Petroleum Rules, 2002 , on 04.09.2019, the same was rejected as per Ext.P22 Order passed by the Respondent No.2 on the ground that the proposed site does not satisfy the siting criteria as per Ext.P13 Revised Guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) with respect to the distance from neighboring school and that the construction was not started. Earlier, Respondent No.2 had rejected the NOC as per the Ext.P17 Order dated 31.12.2021. This Court set aside the Ext.P17 Order in the Ext.P18 judgment, and thereafter the Respondent No.2 passed the Ext.P19 Order dated 04.07.2024 again rejecting the NOC. When the Petitioner sent Ext.P20 Contempt Notice alleging that Ext.P19 Order is not in compliance with Ext.P18 judgment of this Court, the Respondent No.2 reconsidered the matter and passed Ext.P22 Order, which is impugned in this Writ Petition.

2. I heard the learned Counsel for the Petitioner, Sri. Johnson Gomez, the learned Government Pleader for the Respondent Nos.1, 2 and 6, the learned Standing Counsel for the Respondent Nos.3 and 8, and the learned Standing Counsel for the Respondent No.4, Sri. M. Gopikrishnan Nambiar.

3. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner contended that in view of Ext.P15 Office Memorandum dated 29.01.2021 issued by the CPCB, the distance to be maintained between the school and the outlet is only 3 Meters, as mandated under the earlier Ext.P12 Circular dated 09.08.2004 issued by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, which had been existing before Ext.P13 Office Memorandum dated 07.01.2020 issued by the CPCB. The Petitioner has satisfied one of the two conditions in Ext.P15 by obtaining Ext.P4 Clearance from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) before 07.01.2020. The other condition to start construction before 07.01.2020 is an impossible condition, as construction is impermissible without obtaining NOC from the District Collector as per Rule 5(4) of the Kerala Panchayat Building Rules, 2019 . Since the construction is legally impossible without an NOC from the District Collector, rejection of the NOC by the District Collector for lack of construction renders compliance with the said condition unattainable. Hence, the 2^nd respondent ought to have granted NOC to the petitioner, ignoring the second condition in Ext.P15, finding that PESO Clearance was obtained before 07.01.2020 and that the Petitioner and the Respondent No.4 could not start construction due to the impossibility of performing such a condition.

4. The learned Counsel for the Respondent No.4 supported the arguments of the learned Counsel for the Petitioner.

5. The learned Government Pleader advanced the arguments with reference to the Statement filed on behalf of the Respondent No.2 in the Writ Petition. It is contended that the distance between the petroleum outlet and the neighbouring school is found to be only 17 Meters. On further measurement, it was found to be 19.10 Meters. The District Police Chief, District Supply Officer and Deputy Director of Education objected to the petroleum outlet considering the safety of the students of the School. Since the construction of the petroleum outlet was not started before 07.01.2020, the Petitioner will not get the benefit of Ext.P15, and she has to maintain a distance of 30 Meters as per Ext.P13 Guidelines issued by the CPCB. It could not be said that the NOC required under Rule 5(4) of the Kerala Panchayat Building Rules, 2019 , for fuel filling stations