The suggestion was made by Justice A M Khanvilkar who observed "first you (authorities) declare the beat chowkies illegal, then try to regularise them. Why don't you include them in the Development Plan itself ?
Prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai contended that applications have already been put up before Municipal authorities for certain beat chowkies which can be regularised.
However, those which cannot be made legal would be demolished.
The High Court had on October 24, 2007, ordered demolition of illegal police chowkies. The aggrieved authorities then approached the Supreme Court which granted status quo and asked the High Court to decide on the issue.
The Court had also remarked earlier that it is "unbecoming" that illegal police chowkies were still occupied and functioning in Greater Mumbai.
The Court is hearing a PIL by I K Chhugani on the issue of illegal police beat chowkies built on footpaths, obstructing roads and being sponsored by private parties.
Chhugani said many illegal chowkies still existed in Greater Mumbai despite undertakings given to the court that they would be regularised or demolished.
He said the court had widened the scope of the PIL and directed that the order be implemented across the state.
"They were supposed to provide a list of chowkies in every city and town of Maharashtra," he claimed.
The State Government had informed the Court on last occasion that of the 269 illegal beat chowkies, 158 (including 138 on footpaths) had been demolished, prompting the Court to ask whether it had regularised the remaining or are they were standing illegally? Why are they not demolished? If you have not, you may be in contempt," the Court had said.
The Court had also taken on record an affidavit filed by Hemant Karkare, the then joint commissioner of police (administration), on October 22, 2007.
In this, the police had accepted existence of 269 beat chowkies built without the permission of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and sought time to regularise them.
