Drying Rubber Sheets In Smoke House Not 'Manufacture', No Panchayat Licence Needed: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court, in a recent decision, held that mere drying of latex sheet in a smoke house does not amount to 'manufacture' and therefore, the same does not require licence from the panchayat.Justice P.M. Manoj observed that since there is no new or different commodity coming out during smoking of latex sheets, the same would not be 'manufacture' and licence is not required. Moreover, the allegation in the petition is not that sheets are being stored or sold but only dried; therefore, licence would not be required, the Court opined.As per Rule 3 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Issue of Licence to Factories, Trades, Entrepreneurship Activities and other Services) Rules, 1996, licence is required for manufacture, storage and sale of rubber and rubber products.The petitioner before the Court was a cancer patient, who has alleged that her neighbour was operating a smoke house for drying latex without a panchayat licence. She also claimed that sulphur was being used in the smoke house and the activity was causing pollution in the form of smoke and dust. She came before the High Court seeking direction to the panchayat to take appropriate action to close down the smoke house.The panchayat's counsel told the Court that licence was not required. The State Pollution Control Board submitted that directions were already issued by it mandating certain compliances for operating the smoke house and if these are not being complied with, appropriate action would be taken.The petitioner contended that as per Entry 134 of Schedule I of the Rules, rubber and rubber products are specifically listed and therefore, licence from panchayat was required. He also relied on a 2008 decision where it was found that panchayat licence is required in the case of a smoke house run by a rubber dealer.The petitioner also pointed out that drying amounts to 'manufacture' and comes within the purview of Entry 134, requiring licence. However, the Court disagreed with this view and said:“the mere drying of rubber sheets does not amount any manufacture at all. For a particular item to be said to have been manufactured, a new and different commodity should emerge out of the activity. Here, what is dried and what is taken out of the smoke house is one and the same – rubber sheets. Therefore, the provisions of the 1996 Rules would not get attracted to the facts of the afore case.” With respect to the averment regarding sulphur usage, the Court took note of the fact that the Pollution Control Board has already interdicted the use. However, it felt appropriate to direct the Board to periodically inspect the smoke house in question to ensure that sulphur is not being used.With the direction, the Court dismissed the writ petition.Case No: WP(C) No. 2710 of 2023Case Title: Mini Sunny v. Thuravoor Grama Panchayat and Ors.Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 230Counsel for the petitioner: Abraham P. George, M. SanthyCounsel for the respondents: Wilson Urmese – SC – Thuravoor Grama Panchayat , Dinesh Mathew J. Muricken, M.B. Ratheesh, K.A. Abhilash, Vinod S. Pillai, Mohammed Thayib N.M., Nayana Varghese, Ahammad Sachin K., Johny Thomas, Elsa Jacob, Akash Philip, Sandra K. Sanjay, T. Naveen – SC – Kerala State Pollution Control BoardClick to Read/Download Judgment

Drying Rubber Sheets In Smoke House Not 'Manufacture', No Panchayat Licence Needed: Kerala High Court

K. Salma Jennath

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