The Hindu : Coca-Cola unit: files on ban order sought

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 28, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Coca-Cola unit: files on ban order sought

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, FEB. 27. A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court today asked the Additional Advocate General (AAG), Rajan Joseph, to make available to the court the relevant files and all other material in the possession of the Government on the basis of which the Government issued an order prohibiting the Coca-Cola from drawing groundwater till June 15.

The Bench comprising Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice K. Padmanabhan Nair also directed the AAG to address the contention of the petitioner that the company had been singled out even while similar companies/factories in the same district had been spared.

The directive was issued when a writ petition filed by the company challenging the Government order issued on February 21 came up before the court. Though Counsel for the company made an impassioned plea for staying the Government order, the court said that it would pass an order after perusing the relevant files relating to the decision.

According to the petitioner, the Government should not have taken such a decision when the High Court's interim order that status quo be maintained with respect to drawing of water remained in force. By taking a decision to impose a ban on the company drawing water, the Government had shown disrespect and disregard to the High Court's interim order. In fact, the order had rendered infructuous the High Court order appointing an expert committee to investigate the allegations against the company. The petitioner pointed out that the Government was bound to honour the court's order. Besides, the Government did not have any scientific data before it to justify the order. The petitioner said that the Government had no power to issue such an order. The Kerala Ground Water (Control and Regulation) Act did not confer any power on the Government to prohibit the drawing of ground water by the company or any individual. The Kerala Famine Relief Fund Rules had not empowered the Government to issue such an order since it had been passed as part of the drought-relief measure.

The company sought a declaration that the Government had no authority or jurisdiction to pass such an order and to prohibit the Government from taking any action against the company.

Direction on quota

Justice C. N. Ramachandran Nair directed the State Government to file statements justifying the retention of the Malabar and Travancore-Cochin merit quota in the admissions to professional courses.

The Judge made it clear that statements should distinguish the features of two areas, justifying these two separate quotas particularly when there was a common merit quota for the whole of the State.

The directive was issued on a writ petition filed by Mithun James of Kozhikode challenging the Government decision to abolish two eligibility conditions for admission to the Malabar and Travancore quotas.

As per the original order, only candidates whose parents resided in the erstwhile Malabar area or erstwhile Travancore-Cochin area for three years immediately preceding to November 1, 1956 were eligible for the quota.

The second condition was that the candidates or their parents who owned or possessed landed property or house in the areas prior to November 1, 1956 could be admitted to the quota. The third eligibility condition was that any candidate with the required qualification from these areas could be admitted to the quota.

The Government had, during the current academic year, done away with the first and second eligibility conditions.

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