The Hindu Business Line : Kerala HC reverses PepsiCo licence cancellation

Kochi April 10 The Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed the order of the Pudussery Gram Panchayat in Palakkad cancelling the licence of PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd for its factory at Kanjikode in Palakkad.

The Bench comprising the Acting Chief Justice, Mr K.S. Radhakrishnan, and Mr Justice M.N. Krishnan quashed the order while allowing a writ petition filed by the company, challenging the cancellation of its licence. It was cancelled in 2003 on the ground that there had been scarcity of drinking water in the areas near the company, presumably because of over-exploitation of groundwater.

The High Court had earlier stayed the panchayat order subject to certain conditions.

COMPANY PLEA

The company submitted before the court that the Panchayat had no power to revoke the licence, as the Kerala Industrial Single Window Clearance Board had granted it. The power to revoke the licence had been vested only with the Board, the company said.

The court, in its final order, observed that the industrial establishment put up in the new industrial area in Kanjikode was governed by the Kerala Industrial Single Window Clearance Board and Industrial Townships Develop- ment Act 1999.

The Bench pointed out that the industrial areas declared under the Act had been excluded from the purview of the panchayat in the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act. The Development Act said that the industries already established or were proposed to be established should be exempted from obtaining permission from the Municipality or Gram Panchayat Town Planning Department for development activities including construction of buildings.

`NO JURISDICTION'

The Division Bench said that the Panchayat had no jurisdiction in the matter of issuing or cancellation of licences to the factory as the legislature in its wisdom had excluded the industrial areas from the purview of the Panchayat as per Section 1(2) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act.

However, the court pointed out that the apprehension of the Panchayat could not be lost sight of and called for the attention of the authorities functioning under the Kerala Groundwater Control and Regulation Act 2000 as well as the boards constituted under the Development Act.

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