Deemed grant of no-objection certificate follows statutory inaction, requiring expeditious consideration of the linked licence application.

Section 447(6) of the Kerala Municipality Act requires the Municipality to decide a no-objection certificate application within thirty days, and failure to do so triggers the deeming consequence in favour of the applicant. The policy-related objection and the imminent expiry of the Council's tenure did not excuse non-compliance with that statutory time limit. On that basis, the petitioner was treated as having obtained the no-objection certificate, and the FL-3 licence application was to be considered expeditiously, subject to completion of the remaining statutory formalities.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner's application for no-objection certificate had to be treated as deemed granted under Section 447(6) of the Kerala Municipality Act when the Municipality failed to decide it within the stipulated period, and whether the petitioner was entitled to a direction for consideration of the FL-3 licence application on that basis.

Analysis: The statutory mandate under Section 447(6) required the Municipality to consider the application within thirty days. The failure to act within that period attracted the deeming consequence. The Court held that the policy-related objection and the impending end of the Council's tenure did not dilute the statutory power or excuse non-compliance with the prescribed time limit. Since the matter could be resolved on the deeming provision, the alternative challenge to the earlier rejection was not examined.

Conclusion: The petitioner was deemed to have been granted the no-objection certificate, and the first respondent was required to consider the re-presented application for FL-3 licence expeditiously, subject to fulfilment of other statutory formalities.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute prescribes a fixed period for deciding an application and the authority fails to act within that period, the deeming provision operates in favour of the applicant and the legal consequences attached to the deemed act must follow.

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