The court emphasized the need for thorough administrative review to prevent arbitrary actions regarding road alignment decisions.

1. The Government of Kerala has, for the purpose of effectuation of a project to widen the Muvattupuzha - Koothattukulam link road with the intent of upgrading it to the status of the Thekkady - Ernakulam State High way, finalised an original alignment, which was impugned by various persons finally lead to the Secretary to Government to issue an order dated 23/12/2013, altering the alignment in a small area of the road between Ch.1.7957 km and Ch.2.4400 km. This order has been appended as Ext.P6 in W.P.(C) No.30524 of 2016. Accepting this order, the Government issued Ext.P7 approving the final alignment of the said road in the manner as altered by Ext.P6. So for all intents and purposes, Ext.P7 is the order which governs the present alignment of the said road.

2. I am considering five different writ petitions jointly because all of them relate to the dialectical claims of the various writ petitioners, with respect to their properties situated on this road and each of them claim that the alignment would affect them one way or the other, some of them supporting the original alignment and others the altered one. I, therefore, deem it necessary to consider all these writ petitions together and to dispose them jointly, treating, for the sake of convenience, W.P.(C) 30524/2016 as the lead case and hence all reference to parties and documents in this judgment will be as per the status as is available in the said W.P.(C).

3. I have heard the learned counsel for the various petitioners in the above writ petitions namely, M/s Dinesh R. Shenoy, P. V. George, Shyson P. Manguzha, M. S. Unnikrishnan and the learned Government Pleader appearing for the official respondents.

4. Even though there are several averments, allegations and assertions contained in all these writ petitions, I do not deem it necessary to consider them in detail because I notice that Ext.P6 order has been issued by the Secretary to the Government of Kerala pursuant to directions from this Court in an earlier judgment. The judgment in question has been appended as Ext.P5, wherein when there was a contest regarding the original alignment and this Court had appointed a certain Shri K. R. Rajaram, who is a retired Chief Technical Examiner of State of Kerala, to consider the objections against it and to file a report as to the feasibility and requirement of altering such alignment. This Court thereafter disposed of the writ petition with the following directions:
"Under the above mentioned circumstances, the writ petition is disposed of directing the 2nd respondent to consider the matter with respect to fixation of alignment of Muvattupuzha - Koothattukulam link road in between Ch:1.7957 K.M and Ch:2.4407 K.M, after taking note of the proposal submitted by the petitioners, with respect to which report of feasibility study was conducted by the Advocate Commission appointed by this Court, Sri. K. R. Rajaram, Retired Chief Technical Examiner. The 2nd respondent shall consider the matter either by himself or by constituting a High Level Committee consisting of technical experts. Further proceedings of land acquisition in the case of the petitioners shall be proceeded only after a fresh decision is taken on the matter. The 2nd respondent will afford an opportunity of personal hearing to the 1st petitioner representing other petitioners, the Grama Panchayats who are respondents 11 and 12, respondents 7 to 9 and representatives of the additional respondents 13 and 24."

5. The writ petitioners who are now before