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High court pulls up Bihar govt for 'constitutional breakdown'

The Patna high court today censured the Bihar government for defying the court's directives and observed that it amounted to 'constitutional breakdown'.

On hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by an activist Arun Kumar Mukherjee seeking improvement in traffic system, a division bench of the court observed that Bihar was not being governed in accordance with the constitutional provisions.

The bench comprising Justices B P Singh and Naresh Kumar Sinha directed all district authorities to remove encroachments from public places within two weeks. It asked the police superintendents to instruct the station house officers to check re-encroachments forthwith.

The bench further directed the state government to file an affidavit providing for remedies to check unauthorised construction of temples on the roadside besides measures to check encroachments within three weeks.

Taking exception to cattle sheds on the roadside, the court directed all the district magistrates to remove them.

The court further asked the district traffic officers to ensure smooth flow of traffic besides suitably dealing with the erring public.

The petition would come up for hearing again on October 30.

UNI

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