Kerala High Court Directs Thrissur Corporation To Pay Damages For Demolishing Licensed Bunk Shop Despite Interim Protection Order

The Kerala High Court has ordered Thrissur Corporation to pay Rs. 50,000 damages to a woman whose deceased husband's licensed bunk shop was demolished despite interim protection orders passed by the Court.

A single judge bench of Justice A Muhamed Mustaque said it cannot overlook the "high handed action" of the authority but awarded only nominal damages considering that an alternative shop was subsequently allotted to the woman.

"This Court is competent to pass orders that grant relief in such a manner as to uphold the fundamental rights of a citizen. This Court cannot ignore such illegal action in violation of the Court order," it remarked.

The issue relates to demolition of the shop, with the petitioner submitting that they had suffered a loss of approximately Rs. 3,53,700/- and as such, ought to be compensated. The writ petition was filed by the widow of the late Shanmughan who had previously approached the court challenging an order of eviction of a licensed bunk shop. The court had passed an interim order in that matter, directing the secretary of Thrissur Corporation to finalise the list of street vendors under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. An interim order was also passed directing the respondent to reconnect the electricity supply to the petitioner.