Authorities must pursue statutory eviction proceedings against identified encroachers after affording them a fair hearing.

The petitioner filed a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a Writ of Mandamus to compel respondents 1 to 4 to act upon his representation dated 12.12.2022

The petitioner alleged that the 5th respondent had illegally encroached upon T.S.No.58, which is a Government Lane/Pathway providing access to T.S.Nos. 57, 59, and 62

During the proceedings, the Commissioner of the Puducherry Municipality filed a status report confirming that a survey and inspection had been conducted, identifying that encroachments indeed existed

1. Whether the authorities are mandated to initiate enforcement action once an encroachment on public land has been identified through official inspection

2. Whether the existence of alleged Civil Court decrees in favor of the encroacher bars the Municipality from conducting statutory verification and eviction proceedings

Pondicherry Municipalities Act, 1973

The principle of administrative law that requires authorities to follow mandatory statutory procedures, including the requirement to provide a fair hearing (Audi Alteram Partem) to alleged encroachers before taking final enforcement action

The Court analyzed the status report submitted by the 2nd respondent, noting that paragraph 14 explicitly admitted that inspections had confirmed the petitioner’s allegations of encroachment

The Court reasoned that once the authorities recognize an encroachment upon a public lane, they are duty-bound to initiate the eviction process under the Pondicherry Municipalities Act, 1973

Regarding the 5th respondent’s claim of possessing Civil Court decrees, the Court held that while such documents must be considered, they do not bypass the administrative process; instead, the 5th respondent must submit these documents to the authorities for verification to determine their validity and relevance to the specific encroached site

The Court held that the authorities must provide the 5th respondent an opportunity to present relevant Civil Court decrees and documents for verification before taking a final decision

The entire exercise was directed to be completed within twelve weeks from the receipt of the order

No costs were awarded