KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has held that Lulu Mall has the right to collect parking fees from the vehicles parked in the 1083 parking slots in the basement of the building, but it was illegal to collect parking fees from vehicles parked in the multi-level parking facility without obtaining a licence under Section 475 of the Kerala Municipality Act.
If the company intends to utilise the multilevel parking facility near the shopping mall and collect parking fees from persons using the facility, that can be done only under a licence issued under Section 475 of the Kerala Municipality Act, observed Justice V G Arun while disposing of the petitions filed by two petitioner Bosco Louis and Pauly Vadakkan.
The petitioners argued that the parking space has to be provided mandatorily as per Rule 20 of the Kerala Municipality Building Rules. Hence, no fees can be collected for utilising the space. The very purpose of providing mandatory parking space, which is to ensure that people visiting the mall do not park their vehicles on the roadside, will be defeated if exorbitant parking fees is permitted to be collected,the petitioners argued.
The counsel for Lulu Mall argued that in the absence of statutory prohibition against the collection of parking fees, and as property tax has to be paid for the area also, the space was decided to be utilised economically by collecting fees from the vehicle owners. Any intervention with the said activity would amount to a violation of the owner’s fundamental right.
1,083 parking slots