HC dismisses appeals challenging land acquisition for Shivaram Karanth Layout

A division bench of the high court has dismissed the writ appeals challenging the final notification on acquiring land for the Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout.

The appeals were filed by Panchakshari R and others challenging the November 29, 2021, order of the single judge, dismissing the petitions challenging the final notification of the layout developed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum said the matter cannot be allowed to be re-litigated in view of the observations made by the Apex Court.

“The impugned final notification dated 30-10-2018, which is called in question in a batch of writ petitions as rightly held by the learned single judge cannot be gone into and if done, would virtually amount to permitting the present appellants to re-litigate on the same cause of action and it would also be tantamount to overstepping the jurisdiction of the Apex Court and overreaching the orders of the Apex Court,” the bench said.

“If the final notification is issued pursuant to a positive direction issued by the Apex Court, the question of the validity of the final notification cannot be looked into and the single judge has rightly declined to entertain the writ petition. We do not find any valid grounds to arrive at a contrary view in the present case on hand,” it added.

On August 3, 2018, the Apex Court restored the preliminary notification issued on December 30, 2008, after reversing the orders passed by both the single and division bench of the High Court of Karnataka.

The Apex Court had directed the authorities to issue a final notification within three months, without excluding any land already acquired.

After the directions of the Apex Court, the BDA issued the final notification on October 30, 2018.