HC seeks info on no. of cases filed under defacement Act

Mumbai: Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed BMC and other corporations in Maharashtra to reply with particulars of action taken against persons putting up illegal hoardings and banners under the Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act.
"Tell us how many cases have you registered and what is the status. Deterrent action has to be taken; only then will it stop," said Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre. They were hearing contempt petitions regarding non-compliance with directions in a Jan 2017 judgment. Advocate Uday Warunjikar, for petitioner Suswarajya Foundation, said political parties are the main contributors to illegal hoardings. They undertook before HC not to encourage their members to raise illegal hoardings and identified persons to be held responsible for it. "Despite that, this is happening," he added.
Advocate general Birendra Saraf said whenever required, the state has provided police help to BMC. Asked by the judges what the solution is, he replied that political parties and persons who put up illegal hoardings "need to be held answerable and responsible…we need to have some deterrent." Warunjikar said the problem is the effective implementation of the Act, adding, "Unfortunately, none of the corporations are registering an offence under this Act."
Warunjikar urged HC to implead the two Shiv Sena and NCP factions, saying he apprehends that at a future hearing, the person who gave the undertaking to HC on behalf of the party will say ‘that group is a separate group.' Justice Dangre said, "Nowadays, we are looking at banners where there are three pictures of separate parties. So don't worry about that. When we come to the court, we can see that up to the Mantralaya, the whole roads are all orange, green, whatever...we don't want to say any further. But all three pictures. So nobody is going to take action against anybody."
Senior advocate Narendra Walawalkar, for BMC, said political parties must nominate ward-wise persons who will be responsible for putting up illegal hoardings. "That is an impracticable thing, like asking a wrongdoer to say, ‘you disclose your identity'. Who will do it?" the CJ asked. Walawalkar added, "So if a lower-level leader is appointed, we catch hold of him. Big leaders, it is difficult." Adjourning the hearing, the judges asked all corporations to submit their suggestions.