S. MURALIDHAR, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner, the Patri Association is an association of traders stated to be squatting at 6x4 feet tehbazari sites opposite Mohan Singh Market, ina since 1979. It has filed these two writ petitions seeking to restrain the municipal Corporation of Delhi ('mcd') from removing its members from their respective tehbazari sites which, according to them, they are in lawful possession of and for removal of encroachments by unauthorised squatters.

( 2 ) THE background to the filing of these petitions is that the Mohan Singh market Association, INA Market, New Delhi had earlier filed W. P. (C) No. 2052 of 1996 in this Court. The members of that Association were the regular shopkeepers. They sought a direction for removal of illegal squatters from the market. In the said writ petition, a counter affidavit dated 15. 5. 1997 was filed on behalf of the MCD by Shri Jagdish Chandra (AO) stating that there were 51 authorised squatters who were allotted tehbazari sites of 6x4 feet since 1979. Enclosed to the affidavit was a list of 51 such tehbazari holders. The relevant portions of the said affidavit read as under:

"1]. For that the premises in question, forming part o