'In Public Interest': Karnataka High Court Upholds Fire NOC Mandate For Firecracker Traders Even Without Express Statutory Provision
Karnataka High Court has held that Mangaluru Mahanagara Palike (Mangalore Municipal Corporation) can require firecracker traders to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from fire department as a precondition to carry on their business, even in absence of an express statutory provision backing such a requirement. “Private interest stands subordinate to public interest and public at...
Karnataka High Court has held that Mangaluru Mahanagara Palike (Mangalore Municipal Corporation) can require firecracker traders to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from fire department as a precondition to carry on their business, even in absence of an express statutory provision backing such a requirement.
“Private interest stands subordinate to public interest and public at large,” the Division Bench of Justice DK Singh and Justice TM Nadaf said while setting aside the Single Judge's order quashing the municipal corporation's directions.
The appeal arose from the Single Judge's order allowing writ petitions filed by firecracker traders, who contended that the Municipal Corporation's direction requiring them to produce an NOC lacked statutory backing and violated their fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution.
The High Court observed, “It cannot be lost sight that, in recent times, there are several fire hazards particularly in cracker shops and go-downs, claiming lives of innocents, including children,” adding that the intention of the authorities to insist on NOC is to “prevent any unfortunate hazard before it causes serious damages both life and property into its fold.”
The Court further noted that such a requirement squarely falls within the purview of reasonable restrictions under Article 19.
The Court took into account the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services Department on February 1, 2024, prescribing detailed safety measures for retail sale of crackers, crackers godown and crackers manufacture units. The SOP also included annual renewal of fire license from the fire department. The Court said that it is the duty of the fire department to ensure strict adherence to the SOP and that of municipal corporation to minimize the risk of unfortunate fire hazards.
“The controlling measures taken by way of insisting for NOC cannot be termed as arbitrary or unreasonable. This is based on the principle that private interest stands subordinate to public interest and public at large,” the Court held.
Taking note of the authority of the municipal corporation in the matter, the Court observed, “The exercise of such governance by the Mangaluru Mahanagara Palike, constituted under the provisions of Article 243Q of Constitution of India, which contemplates providing Municipal Corporation for a larger Urban Area with bounded duties, enjoining power to prevent any fire hazard risking public at large under general governance.”
Setting aside the Single Judge's order, the Court observed that the Writ Court had “swayed much on the absence of any applicable provisions”. “The General Governance to bring safety measures in some times weighs more, strictly applicable in the interest of public at large,” the Court observed. The petitioners were directed to seek NOC from the fire department within two weeks from the date the certified copy of the order is received.
The respondents, who are firecracker traders, had challenged orders issued by the Health Officer, Mangaluru, directing them to obtain a Fire Department NOC as a precondition to carry on their business, despite already holding Form LE-5 licences and municipal trade licences valid for several years. They contended that the order was not supported by any statutory provision.
Accepting this contention, the Single Judge had quashed the Health Officer's order, observing that “in the absence of any applicable law, however good the intention of the Health Officer may be, he cannot on his own seek for implementation of a particular requirement when the law does not contemplate it to be so.”
In appeal, the Mangaluru Mahanagara Palike argued that the order was in line with the Supreme Court's ruling in Arjun Gopal vs. Union of India. The corporation contended that the Government had issued guidelines with respect to sale of green crackers in Dakshina Kannada District, under which the traders of crackers were directed to secure NOC from the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services Department. The petitioners' licenses were cancelled for violating these guidelines and they were asked to secure an NOC from the Fire department.
Case: Mangaluru Mahanagara Palike & another v M/S Maya Traders & others
WRIT APPEAL NO. 694 OF 2025 (LB-RES)