Remove BDA commissioner for flouting our orders: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday castigated Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) Commissioner M B Rajesh Gowda for allotting alternative sites to multiple people in fully-developed layouts. It also said he should be shifted out of BDA “immediately” for “disobeying” its orders.

A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna took strong objection to the BDA’s decision of going against the SC’s order of October 29. “We had restrained allotment of alternative sites in developed layouts. The commissioner has violated our order and caused great financial loss to the BDA. Sites worth Rs 9 to Rs 10 crore have been allotted in RMV (2nd stage extension) by disobeying our orders,” the bench said.

On October 29 last year, the SC had ordered the BDA to allot sites – formed in the recovered or fully-developed layouts – only through public auction. The BDA had, however, flouted the order and allotted alternative sites to four persons, including Home Minister Araga Jnanendra in the developed layout. The authority then filed an Interculatory Application (IA), requesting the court to modify its order.

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The advocate, representing the BDA apologised to the court, saying the BDA should have requested for the modification of the order before allotting the alternative sites. “The commissioner has the audacity to file an IA after disobeying court orders. What does he mean? G category is illegal. How can a person who has got a site in HSR Layout illegally be given an alternative site in RMV?” Justice Nazeer said during the hearing in a matter related to Dr Shivram Karanth Layout.

The BDA counsel said the commissioner could not attend the hearing as he is down with Covid. “You shift the commissioner from BDA immediately. He has no respect for Supreme Court orders. He should not sign any important orders from today onwards. This is the order of the court,” the bench orally said.

The court also observed that it will consider shifting secretaries and deputy secretaries who have also violated the order, as “they are also the party in the illegal allotments.”