Justice should not be denied due to time limits: High Court

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has said that legal provisions that deny citizens their rights due to time limits should be changed. The court observed that many ordinary people fail to get justice either because they are not aware of the law or because the time limit for filing appeals has expired. Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan said that though the court does not have the power to issue such a direction to the legislature, the government can consider such changes. He added that restrictions in laws meant to help the public often produce opposite results and therefore need to be amended.

The court made these observations while considering a petition filed by a 68-year-old man from Kollam, seeking amendments to the rules framed under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Kerala Municipality Act.

In this case, the municipal corporation had ordered the demolition of a toilet built in 1990 within the petitioner’s property, based on a complaint from a neighbour. Though the rules require an appeal to be filed within 60 days, the petitioner approached the authorities only after two years. The High Court said no court has the authority to bypass rules related to time limits.

The court noted that it was unfortunate that a building constructed by an illiterate daily wage worker using his hard-earned money had to be demolished due to the complexity of the rules. It also took into account that the petitioner lives in the house with only his 86-year-old mother and that there is no other toilet on the premises. While acknowledging the legal hurdles, the court granted three months on humanitarian grounds to demolish the toilet and directed that a new one be constructed within that period.