Thottathil B.Radhakrishnan, J.
1. Heard. The petitioner is establishing a small scale industry.
He has to install machineries which cannot be unloaded by headload workers alone. The machinery has to be unloaded and installed with the help of a crane. The private respondents are alleged to have claimed amounts which, in State of Kerala, “God's own Country”, is called by the sweet name 'Nokku Kooly', meaning in English, payment for watching. We think that if this watching includes proper activity of watch dogs, then payment either by way of money or food may be useful. Otherwise, this insistence of payment of what is called 'Nokku Kooly' is nothing but a bane on the Indian society and it is a compulsion for other persons who are eligible under the Constitution of India to keep away from WPC.No.24001/14 2 working in a particular locality. This Court had repeatedly sounded the requirement for the Governmental machineries to ensure the abolition of the system called 'Nokku Kooly'. The claim for 'Nokku Kooly' is not only an affront to the Constitution of India by an unauthorized and illegal extraction of money by creating a state of threat and deprivation of property. They amount to offences punishable in law. They are 'anti-social activities' as defined in Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007.
2. Be that as it may, the private respondents say that they are not involved in any obstruction and would not cause any obstruction. They, however, stand to point out that the petitioner does not have due licence. If somebody is to start an activity, he has to get completion certificate upon installation. These are matters to be looked into by the statutory authorities rather than the self imposed whistle-blowers prowling localities under the guise of professed activities in support of the labour forces of the State. Recording the submission of the private respondents as noted above, it is WPC.No.24001/14 3 directed that if there is any obstruction to the activity of the petitioner, the jurisdictional police will provide adequate protection as may be necessary, in accordance with law.
Writ petition ordered accordingly.
Sd/-
(THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN, JUDGE) Sd/-
(BABU MATHEW P. JOSEPH, JUDGE) //TRUE COPY// P.A TO JUDGE DG