The Supreme Court has directed the Karnataka Milk Producers’ Federation (KMPF) to surrender around two acres at Adugodi village in Bangalore to the original owners of the land.

A bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and Dalveer Bhandari said: “We have heard the counsel for the parties at length. We direct the Federation to hand over possession of land measuring 2 acres 5 guntas without any loss of time.”

YS Setty and Sons had filed a contempt petition before the apex court seeking re-possession of the land under earlier court orders – one in 1967 and another in 1972. The land is worth crores presently.

On January 19, 1961, the government of Mysore – the predecessor of Karnataka government – had acquired 20 acres and 3 gunthas of YS Setty and Sons under the Land Acquisition Act to set up Bangalore Dairy, which was later made into KMPF.

But YS Setty and Sons challenged the acquisition saying the said land could not be acquired by the government under the Land Acquisition Act.

The Supreme Court said the KMPF “cannot now question what was done by the State Government in its own interest”.

The successors of YS Setty and Sons have spent lakhs of rupees in fighting the case since 1962.