P.Venkatachalam v. The Corporation Commissioner
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 04-06-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE DR JUSTICE G. JAYACHANDRAN AND THE HON'BLE MRS.JUSTICE N. MALA
1. P.Venkatachalam S/o. T. Ponnusamy,
2. Jagdish S. Patel S/o.Shamjibhai Patel,
3. Mr. Kavish C. Shah S/o. Champaklal Shah,
4. Mr. Binu Sunny S/o. V.I. Sunny,
5. B. Arjunna S/o. K. Balashanmugam,
6. Mr. A. Pious Xavier S/o. A.P. Xavier ..Petitioners Vs
1. The Corporation Commissioner Coimbatore city Municipal Corporation, Town Hall, Coimbatore -641 001.
2. The Town Planning Offier Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, Coimbatore -641 001.
3. Mr. Rathinam
4. Mrs. Ranjitham, W/o. Mr. Rathinam ..Respondents
Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of Inida, praying for issuance of Writ of Mandamus, to direct the Respondents 1 to 2 to consider the representation dated 03.09.2025 and 22.10.2025 to remove the I.T. Institutions from the Brooke Bond Layout situate in Coimbatore District and Taluk, Krishnaswamy Mudaliar Road, Comprised in T.S. No.8/581/1 and new T.S. No.8/1423 Site No.2, to 4 and to take immediate action against the unauthorized constructions in Site No.5.
For Petitioners :
Mr. K.V.Babu For Respondents:
Mr.D.R. Arunkumar Standing Counsel [R1 and R2] Mr.Sharath Chandran assisted by Mr. O.Solaiappan and G. Karthick Raj [R3 and R4]
ORDER
(Order of the Court was made by Dr.G.Jayachandran J.) The petitioners are residents of the Brooke Bond lay out in Coimbatore city. The neighbouring property owners have been arrayed as 3rd and 4th respondents and they have rented their premises for commercial purposes.
2. The occupants of the said commercial premises engage heavy vehicles to carry out their business activities. According to the petitioners, these vehicles cause a nuisance and disturb the ingress and egress to their respective properties. Representations made to the 1st and 2nd respondents to take immediate action against the 3rd and 4th respondents have not yielded any
positive response. This has forced the writ petitioners to join together and file the present writ petition, seeking the following relief: "to direct the Respondents 1 to 2 to consider the representation dated 03.09.2025 and 22.10.2025 to remove the I.T. Institutions from the Brooke Bond Layout situate in Coimbatore District and Taluk, Krishnaswamy Mudaliar Road, Comprised in T.S. No.8/581/1 and new T.S. No.8/1423 Site No.2, to 4 and to take immediate action against the unauthorized constructions in Site No.5."
3. Mr.D.R.Arunkumar, learned Standing Counsel Pleader takes notice for the respondents 1 and 2 and Mr.Sharath Chandran, learned counsel takes notice for the respondents 3 and 4. They made their submissions.
4. The sum and substance of the writ petition is that their neighbours in the locality had leased out their premises for commercial purposes and that their tenants were causing disturbance to the residents of the locality, by parking their vehicle, obstructing free flow of traffic and also misbehaving with the residents of the locality when questioned on their parking the vehicles at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
5. Though the allegations are very vague and not specific, we are able to understand the plight of the petitioners on seeing the photographs annexed along with the writ petition.
6. Mr.Sharath Chandran, learned counsel appearing for the respondents 3 and 4 fairly submitted that there are regulations by the Union of India issued under Section 118 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which address the issue of parking vehicle and if the authorities scrupulously follow the regulations, the grievance of the writ petitioners will be substantially redressed.
7. The learned Standing Counsel submitted that the notification of the Union of India dated 23.06.2017 issued in exercise of power conferred under Section 118 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 as well as "The parking policy strategy and an action plan published", by CUMTA may be taken as a guidance for regulating the vehicular traffic in the petitioner's area and that proper instructions may be issued to the residents of that area.
8. We extract the relevant portion of the notification dated 23.06.2017 issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued in exercise of power conferred under Section 118 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988: "22. Stopping and Parking: (1) A vehicle shall not be stopped: i.
at a place where the road is narrow or the view is obstructed; ii.
near or an a sharp bend;
iii.
in an acceleration or a deceleration lane;
iv.
on, or five meters before, a pedestrian crossing; v.
on a level crossing;
vi.
five meters or less before a traffic light signal "Give Way" sign or "STOP" sign or if a stationary vehicle is likely to obstruct these signs from the view of other road users;
vii.
at designated bus stands if the vehicle is other than a bus; viii.
on a yellow box marked on road; and ix.
where prohibited by a mandatory "No Stopping" sign.
(2) A vehicle shall not be parked- ...
(e) Where it would block access to designated parking spaces; (f) near a bus stop, at the entrance to an educational institution or a hospital or if it is likely to block a traffic sign or a fire hydrant; ...
(m) if it is likely obstruct any other vehicle or cause inconvenience to any person;
..
(o) beyond the specified duration at a place where parking is permitted for a specified duration only;"
9. In view of the above guidelines, the traffic police personnel concerned shall fix appropriate sign boards at the entrance of the roads for the vehicle drivers to follow the instruction displayed. The said exercise should be completed preferably within a period of two (2) months from today. With these directions, this writ petition stands disposed of. No costs. (G.J.,J.) (N.M.,J.) 04-06-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order
mp DR.G.JAYACHANDRAN J.
AND N.MALA J.
mp To
1. The Corporation Commissioner Coimbatore city Municipal Corporation, Town Hall, Coimbatore -641 001
2. The Town Planning Offier Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation, Coimbatore -641 001 04-06-2026