Toilets at petrol stations only for customers , not public — Court rules

The Kerala High Court in India has ruled that toilets at petrol stations are meant exclusively for the use of customers, not the general public.

Justice CS Dias issued the interim order while hearing a petition filed by the Petroleum Traders Welfare and Legal Service Society, along with several individual fuel station owners. They challenged the actions of local authorities who had started treating petrol station toilets as public conveniences.

The petitioners alleged that municipal officials were pasting posters and QR code stickers on washrooms, misleading people into thinking the toilets were for unrestricted public use. They clarified that these facilities are privately maintained and intended “to cater to the emergency needs of customers who come to refuel their vehicles.”

They argued that the misrepresentation had led to large crowds, including tourist buses, using the facilities. This, they said, caused confusion, altercations, and safety concerns — in violation of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) guidelines.

“It is humbly submitted that apart from the inconveniences and hardship being caused to the retail outlet dealers, each time a large number of people approach the retail outlet premises for usage of toilets at petrol stations therein, there is a larger public nuisance and impending disaster that is looming large,” the petition stated.

The dealers also cited PESO’s 2018 directive, which limits toilet access at fuel stations to customers only. They rejected the municipal authorities’ claim that they were acting under the Swachh Bharat Mission and local government orders, arguing that these did not authorize the conversion of private property into public utilities.

Invoking Article 300A of the Indian Constitution, the petitioners asserted their right to property and demanded that the government build its own public toilets rather than co-opt privately maintained ones.

Agreeing with their stance, the Court directed the State government and the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation not to insist on opening private toilets at petrol pumps to the public.

The petitioners were represented by advocates Adarsh Kumar, KM Aneesh, Shashank Devan, and Yadu Krishnan PM. The municipal corporation was represented by Suman Chakravarthy.

(Bar and Bench)

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