Lucknow, Aug 20 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Thursday refused to interfere with a PIL seeking removal or demolition of the Aminabad police outpost on the ground that it was allegedly an illegal construction.
The court observed that a police outpost serves the safety and convenience of local residents and is not meant for the personal use of police personnel.
In these circumstances, it said, it would not be appropriate to order its demolition.
A Lucknow bench of justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla passed the order on the PIL filed by ML Yadav.
During the hearing, the petitioner submitted that the Aminabad police outpost had been constructed illegally and should be removed.
He suggested that suitable land could be acquired elsewhere for construction of a new police outpost.
The bench, however, observed that Aminabad is an extremely congested and densely populated area and there was hardly any vacant land where a new police outpost could be constructed.
It said that while suggesting acquisition of suitable land may appear easy, implementing it in such an area would be considerably difficult.
The court observed that in such circumstances, if a police outpost had already been constructed there, it was not a case in which the court should order its demolition. It also made it clear that a police outpost functions in the interest of people living in the area.
However, the bench gave the petitioner liberty to submit a representation before the Lucknow police commissioner.
It said that if it was possible to shift the outpost from its present location to any other available site, the authorities could consider the option.
The petitioner had also raised the issue of several police check posts allegedly constructed illegally across the city.
The court said he could raise the issue before the police commissioner through a representation, which would be considered and dealt with in accordance with law. PTI COR ABN ZMN
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