UoM land row: SC upset over state's failure to furnish original records

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its strong displeasure over the Karnataka government's failure to furnish all records to land in a dispute involving University of Mysore.

A bench of Justices
N V Ramana and S Abdul Nazeer directed the secretary concerned and officers in the Revenue Department of Karnataka to appear before the court with relevant original records on February 20.

Hearing a civil appeal filed by the varsity, the bench said, "We are not happy with the attitude of the State of Karnataka in not assisting this court properly, knowing specifically that the  matter is coming up for hearing."

"The State has not produced any original record before this court, when the basis of the appeal is  that the respondents are claiming valuable land of the University by fraud and forged documents," the bench added.

The matter pertained to donation of about 22 acres of land by the Maharaja of Mysore out of 1600 acres to the President of India for starting Logopedics Institute in 1965. However, in 1974, Rajaiah and Nanjaiah, having been in possession with regular rental receipts being paid as cultivators since 1950, applied for registration of eight acres of land situated at Kurubarahalli village, Mysuru taluk after enactment of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961.

In 2004, the High Court of Karnataka had dismissed the plea of University over the land on grounds of delay.