FARZAN AHMAD Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a case of threatened demolition of portion(s) of the petitioners house/structure. According to the respondent authorities, they are acting in compliance with the directiors given by this court in orders passed from time to time in CWJC No. 2290 of 1990 : Arun Kumar Mukherjee V/s. State of Bihar and others.

(2.) IN a recent decision in Bhola Sah and others V/s. State of Bihar and others, 1999 (2) PLJR 851, this Court examined the orders passeq in the case of Arun Kumar Mukherjee in some detail and then it came to light that in a large number of cases the officials in the district administration were acting without clearly following the true import and scope of those directions. It, therefore, becomes necessary to clearly state the true import of the directions given in the case of Arun Kumar Mukherjee. In the first place, it must be borne in mind that those directions do not relate to ail kinds of encroachments, but only 'to encroachments made on roads and road flanks causing obstruction in the free flow of traffic (or such unauthorised structures which though standing on a private piece of land abutting on a road, are constructed in a mariner so as to cause obstruction in the free flow of traffic). Any other kind of encroachments on a public land will not attract the directions given by this court in the case of Arun Kumar Mukherjee and those encroachments coufd be removed only in accordance with law. Secondly, even while acting in compliance with the directions given in the case of Arun Kumar Mukherjee, it was imperative to take some necessary steps before the executive authorities could forcibly demolish a structure causing obstruction in the free flow of traffic.

(3.) IN case the respondent authorities have reasons to believe that the petitioners house/structure is built in an unauthorised manner so as to cause obstruction in the free flow of traffic, it will be open to them to proceed against the petitioners either under the provisions of the Public Land Encroachment Act or if the.facts so warrant under the directions given in the case of Arun Kumar Mukherjee and as further explained in the case of Bhola Sah.