A Single Judge Bench of the Madras High Court, comprising of Justice N. Anand Venkatesh in the case of G. B. Sahabudeen v. The State of Tamil Nadu & Ors. observed that renaming a street on someone’s name is totally on the shoulder of the State (Respondent) and Court won’t interfere in that.
“The naming of a street falls within the exclusive domain of the respondents and there is no enforceable legal right, which can be enforced by this Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.”
Background of the Case
In this case, the Petitioner named G. B. Sahabudeen and other persons residing in the locality have opposed changing the name of a street from “Santhi Street” to “Satavathani Sheik Thambi Pavalar Street”.
Therefore, this Petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking:
"issue of a Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to retain and maintain the name of our street as “Santhi Street” which is the original name of our street, in Ward No.18, Idalakudi, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District and thereby pass orders, by considering the petitioner's representation dated 23.02.2021, within a stipulated time frame by this Court."
Reasoning and Decision of the Court
The Court considered all the facts and held that renaming of the streets falls under the authority of the Respondents i.e. State. It was further observed that the Court can not exercise its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India as there was no legal right that can be enforced.
The Court suggested that:
"The opposition to rename a street can only be made by way of a protest and the same cannot reach this Court, since it is purely within the discretion of the authorities.”
Therefore, the Court disposed of the petition without imposing any cost on it and expressed that it is left open to the authorities to consider the objections made by the residents and take an appropriate decision.
Case Details
Case: - W.P.(MD).No.7939 of 2021
Petitioner: - G.B.Sahabudeen
Respondent: - The State of Tamil Nadu & Ors
Counsel for Petitioner: - Mr.C.Kishore
Counsel for Respondent: - Mr.M.Muniasamy, Mr.Aathimoolapandian
Judge: Justice N. Anand Venkatesh
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