HC levies Rs 1.40 lakh fine on PIL petitioners

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday levied a penalty of Rs 1.40 lakh on petitioners in a public interest litigation.

The petitioners had contended that 30 acres of gomala land of Dasanapura, Channarayapatna taluk in Hassan district was encroached upon and houses were constructed on them. The petitioners and the respondents are rivals in the village. The government counsel argued that the petitioners too had constructed their houses on the gomala land and had approached the tahsildar to allow them to stay. When the tahsildar ad refused their plea and ordered eviction, the petitioners came up with the PIL seeking removal of all the property constructed on the encroached gomala land.

Terming the PIL as a ‘public vengeance litigation,’ the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice B V Nagarathna dismissed the petition and imposed a penalty of Rs 1.40 lakh on the petitioners. Of the said sum, it directed the petitioners to pay Rs 80,000 to respondents, Rs 50,000 for Advocates’ Welfare Fund and credit Rs 10,000 to the government account.