1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY O. O. C. J. WRIT PETITION NO.1512 OF 1994 Jehangir alias Bhadruddin Allibhoy Mahomed ..Petitioner. Vs. The Municipal Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay and others ..Respondents. .... Ms. K.P. Reshma Ravi i/b Mr. K.P. Ravi for the Petitioner. Ms. G.S. Jogalekar for the BMC. .... CORAM: SWATANTER KUMAR, C.J. & DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, J. 5th January, 2009. P.C. : 1. In this Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the Petitioner prays that the Respondent Corporation be directed to discharge their statutory duty under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966 and Town Planning Scheme No. IV, Mahim area by eviction of illegal occupants and unauthorized construction and put the Petitioner in possession of the property which was allotted to the Petitioner by the Corporation itself. 2 2. Counsel appearing for the Corporation submits that the demolition has already taken place and they have evicted the persons from the site in question. This is, however, disputed by Counsel appearing for the Petitioner upon instructions from her client. We hardly find any justification for the Corporation not to perform its statutory duties. Once a scheme has been announced and sanctioned by the Corporation and is sought to be implemented, it is expected of a public authority to act expeditiously and in the interest of the beneficiary of the scheme. We do not desire to discuss on the merit or otherwise of this case, but in view of the stand taken by the Corporation in this Court, we dispose of the Petition with the following directions : i) We appoint Mr.Subodh Joshi, advocate practicing in this Court as a Court Commissioner to visit the site in question and to report to the Court whether the unauthorized construction or illegal occupants have been removed from the site in question or not; 3 ii) The fees of the Court Commissioner are fixed at Rs.3,000/- in addition to the expenses that the Commissioner will incur; iii) If the report of the Commissioner reflects that the unauthorized and illegal encroachments have not been removed, they shall be removed within six weeks therefrom in accordance with law. iv) If the Petitioner has already filed number of documents showing his entitlement and allotment as stated in the Petition, we direct the Assistant Commissioner, 'G' North ward to look into the claim of the Petitioner and pass appropriate orders within eight weeks from today. 3. We make it clear that this writ petition has been pending since 1994 and we do not expect the Corporation to take any further time to discharge its obligation and drag this matter any further. If this order is not complied with by any of the authorities concerned, we make it clear that we will not hesitate to take any further action against the said officer in accordance with law. 4 Let a copy of this order be given to counsel appearing for the Corporation. The Writ Petition stands disposed of with no order as to costs. CHIEF JUSTICE DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.