The Madras High Court has recorded a submission made on behalf of Greater Chennai City Police (GCCP) that it would educate owners of private buildings to not install ‘no parking’ boards, barricades or sand bags on public roads to prevent parking of motor vehicles.First Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice D. Krishnakumar and Justice P.B. Balaji recorded the submission made by Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) R. Muniyapparaj and said the people should also be made aware of the penal consequences of staking claim over public places.The order was passed while disposing of a public interest litigation petition filed by C.S. Nandhakumar who complained about many private building owners unlawfully erecting ‘no parking’ signage boards or placing barricades on public roads to prevent vehicle parking.The petitioner said such illegal activity could be spotted rampantly in areas such as Adyar, T. Nagar, Mylapore, Mandaveli, Mambalam, Ashok Nagar and the suburbs of Chennai city. He alleged the illegal act was being committed with the knowledge of the police personnel.However, the APP reported to the court that the signage boards and barricades in places pointed out by the petitioner had been removed by the police and submitted photographs to support his assertion. The petitioner’s counsel M. Raja Shekhar did not dispute the APP’s submission.The counsel, however, insisted on issuing a direction to the police to publicise the penal consequences of attempting to occupy public spaces by installing such signage boards and barricades and the APP agreed to do it through the print as well as electronic media within two weeks. Published – September 09, 2024 09:52 pm IST