Licence Under Places Of Public Resort Act Is Compulsory To Run A Gym
Case: Dhanya & Anr v. State of Kerala & Ors.
Coram: Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan
Case No.: WP(C) NO. 22937 OF 2021
Court Observation: “When this writ petition came up for consideration, the counsel for the Municipality and the Government Pleader submitted that several gymnasiums are working in the State of Kerala without a licence as per the Act, 1963. As long as the Act, 1963 is in force, the gymnasiums should obtain a licence from the statutory authority. The 1st respondent will give necessary instructions to all the Corporations, Municipalities and Panchayats to send a notice to the gymnasiums working in their area of operation if they are functioning without licence as per the Act 1963.”
“Gymnasium have become a holy place like temples, mosques, churches etc for the young and the older people alike in the current world. Going to the gym is taken as a credit by men and women of all age groups. That is a good signal for achieving a healthy world. But the atmosphere in a Gymnasium should be attractive, and it should function legally after obtaining all the statutory licences.”
“Sec.7(b) only says that if the authority is satisfied that no objection arising from its situation, ownership, possession or the purpose proposed exists, the authority shall give the applicant a written licence signed by him specifying the enclosure or building and the purpose for which it is used. This does not mean that if there is an objection, the licence can be rejected.”
“If any objection is raised, the licensing authority should inspect the premises and find out whether the objection is genuine and whether there is any grievance to the objector. Simply because a person submits an objection, there is no automatic rejection of the licence…Simply because in the section it is not clearly stated that the ground of objection should be considered by the licensing authority, the licensing authority cannot reject an application based on an objection, without considering the genuineness of the objection. If such a stand of the Municipality is accepted, anybody can stall the functioning of a gymnasium by simply submitting an objection, without any reason.”
“Till notice is issued to the individual gymnasiums for getting licence as per the Kerala Places of Public Resort Act, 1963, their functioning shall not be disturbed, for a period of three months from the date of receipt of the notice demanding the necessity of getting a licence.”
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