Patna: Patna High Court on Monday sternly said that squatters should not return once they are evicted and sought to know who should be held accountable if they return.

The observation was made when Patna district magistrate (DM) Kumar Ravi, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj, Patna traffic SP Prakash Nath Mishra and Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Anupam Kumar Suman were appearing before the bench of Patna High Court Chief Justice Mukesh R. Shah in connection with the hearing on removal of squatters from Patna's roads.

The four officers were summoned by the division bench of Chief Justice Shah and Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by social activist Vikash Chandra A.K.A. Guddu Baba. In his PIL, Chandra had said that most roads in Patna were encroached upon, causing great hardship to commuters and motorists.

Referring to the four officers, the bench said: "It's the public's rights that they are provided roads free of encroachment. The roads should be smooth so that the general public do not face any inconvenience.'

The officers present in court apologised for the inconvenience faced by residents because of encroachment and assured the court that it will be removed soon. The bench was apprised of the encroachment drive being carried out by the district administration in several localities of Patna. The bench expressed surprise as to how encroachment takes place again once squatters are removed from a particular area.

"It (re-encroachment) should not happen again," the court said sternly. "If Patna is to be made a smart city these kind of things should not happen."

The officers told the court that its order should be implemented in true spirit. The court directed the four officers to fix responsibility, as to who is to blame if the squatters return. It said the city could be made encroachment-free only with the cooperation of all. It fixed the next date of hearing of the case for September 10.

Museum case

The same bench made the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) a party to the case about pieces from the museum going missing,. A PIL was filed in the high court alleging that some pieces were missing from the museum. The court in its earlier order had directed the state government to give specific details with regard to the allegation. The matter would next be heard on September 10.