JUDGMENT

KANIA, J. :— Heard Counsel.

This is a Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution for special leave to appeal against a judgment and order of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court dated May 24,1985.

2. Original Petitioner No. 1 who is dead was a hutment dweller and Petitioner No. 2 is a Union representing hutment dwellers having their hutments in lands belonging to the Bombay Port Trust. Respondents Nos. 1 to 3 to the petition are the Chairman of the Bombay Port Trust, Union of India and the State of Maharashtra respectively.

3. Some of the hutments in the Bombay Port Trust lands were cleared by the Bombay Port Trust in the first part of May 1985 and these hutments were demolished. The Petitioners filed a Writ Petition No. 992 of 1985 on the Original Side of the Bombay High Court inter alia for restraining the Bombay Port Trust from carrying out any further demolition of hutments and asking for several other reliefs.

4. A learned single Judge of the Bombay High Court in his judgment and order dated May 15,1985 disposing of the Petition pointed out that the Petitioners Counsel was unable to point out any legal right in the petitioners. The property admittedly belongs to the Bombay Port Trust and the provisions of the Bombay Rents, Hotels and Lodging House Rates (Control) Act, 1947 are not applicable to the said property. The learned Judge further pointed out that although the petition. claimed that there was some policy of the State Government for providing alternative accommodation before the hutments on public lands were demolished, no statement of any such policy was brought to the attention of the Court and the learned Counsel for the State denied that there was any such policy for the Bombay Port Trust lands. The learned Judge dismissed the writ petition but directed that status quo should be maintained till and inclusive of 30th May, 1985 on certain conditions. The Petitioners preferred an appeal against the said order which was dismissed by a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court by the order sought to be impugned before us.

5. Certain interim orders were passed in the said Petition from time to time with which we are not concerned. By an order dated January 27, 1986 a Division Bench of this Court comprising Bhagwati, C.J. and Oza, J. observed that as far as they gathered, about 406 families were involved in the operation relating to the removal of unauthorised hutments on the lands of Bombay Port Trust. They also observed that it was fair and just that some alternative land sites be provided to those who have been continuously in occupation since at least two years prior to a cut off date, fixed by them as January, 1, 1981 should be provided with alternative sites before being thrown out of the said land and directed that those hutment dwellers who have been in occupation of the Bombay Port Trust lands along with their families for the said period, shall not be thrown out unless and until, as a condition precedent, alternative sites are provided to them for occupation. The Division Bench appointed a Commission for the purposes of inquiring and determining as to which of the persons whose names and addresses were given in the affidavit filed on behalf of the Petitioners were in occupation of hutments in the Bombay Port Trust lands for at least two years prior to January 1, 1981. A plain reading of the said order makes it clear that the State Government was directed to provide alternative sites only to those hutment dwellers who were ultimately found entitled to protection as being in occupation for the period set out earlier i.e. two years prior to the cut off date. The Commission appointed by this Court submitted its Report on November 4, 1986. The Commission pointed out that out of 411 families mentioned in the affidavit filed on behalf of the Petitioners, the Commission could make an inquiry in regard to 302 hutment dwellers. 59 of them had already left for Govandi a place in Bombay where alternative site