Aftab Alam, J.

1. The sole petitioner is the owner of the building standing on a piece of land, 1748 sq. ft. in area, being part of plot No.644 within Ward No.2 of the Patna municipal Corporation and situate at frazer Road, Patna. The building which is used for running a shop under the name of d. Lal and Sons has its frontage on the Frazer Road and adjacent north to it there is a narrow lane starting from Frazer Road and running towards east for 150 yards before coming to a dead end.

2. According to the petitioners case after purchasing the land in 1957, the vendee got the building plan sanctioned by the Patna Municipal Corporation in 1957 and also obtained the necessary permission for construction from the Patna Improvement Trust. Copies of the relevant extracts from the sanction order granted by the Corporation and the permission for construction given by the Patna Improvement Trust are enclosed as Annexures 2 and 3. It is asserted in the writ petition that the construction of the building was started in 1958 and it was completed in 1959 in accordance with the sanctioned plan.

3. Pursuant to the directions issued by this Court, the Patna Regional Dev. Authority (the Authority, hereinafter)is at present engaged in the removal of unauthorised constructions and widening of roads/lanes to eliminate congestion and to ensure a free flow of traffic. The lane lying adjacent north to the petitioners building (the lane, hereinafter) has also come under the authoritys lane widening operations and in order to widen the lane atleast to an extent of 20, the Authority proposes to demolish portions of the buildings/structures on its either side and to make the owners of the lands on either side of the lane agree to part with strips of their lands to be amalgamated with the lane. With this object portions of buildings/structures on either side of the lane were marked by the Authority indicating the extent to which those buildings/structures were required to be demolished. The markings put, on the petitioners building indicated that the building was required to be demolished to an extentof 28" on its northern side. Following the putting up of the marks announcement was made on the public address system requiring the owners of the buildings to voluntarily demolish their buildings to the extent indicated within a specified time failing which the buildings would be forcibly demolished by the Authority.

4. The threat of this forcible demolition has led the petitioner to come to this Court seeking certain directions restraining the Authority from forcibly demolishing the building or otherwise causing any damage to it.

5. According to the petitioner the lane is a private lane and it came into existence by the ex-landlord carving out a strip from his land for the common use of the different vendees to whom he sold a large block of land in small parcels. On the strip of land left by the previous land owner, a road was constructed and provision was made for drainage etc. by the owners of the buildings on either side of it, including the petitioner. The lane was never maintained by the Patna Municipal corporation or the Authority. It was further stated that the lane was neither a public street within the meaning of the Patna municipal Corporation Act nor public lane within the meaning of the Public land Encroachment Act. It was, therefore, contended that the Authority had no manner of concern with the lane and had no legal authority to widen it by causing forcible demolition of buildings on its either side.

6. According to the Authority it was acting simply in furtherance of the directions issued by this Court. It was stated on behalf of the Authority that the lane was no more than 15 in width and the buildings on either side of the lane housed shops, restaurants and eating houses. There was even a hotel being run in a multi-storeyed building inside the lane. The business activities being carried on from the premises inside the lane were of a n