SC refuses to lift stay on Akrama-Sakrama

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to lift its stay on Karnataka’s decision to regularise illegal constructions through its controversial Akrama-Sakrama scheme.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar,  turned down a plea by  the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike against its January 13 order staying the scheme.

The BBMP, represented by its counsel Sanjay M Nuli, pleaded that it was losing revenue to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore because of the stay. “All this while you allowed this violation... and now you are saying you are suffering losses,” the bench, also comprising Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, said. The court also issued a notice to the Karnataka government on a separate petition filed by NGO Citizens’ Action Forum against the high court order allowing Akrama-Sakrama, and put up the matter for consideration after the summer vacations.

The Supreme Court had earlier put on hold the Karnataka High Court’s order of December 13, 2016, allowing Karnataka to go ahead with Akrama-Sakrama.

The high court had then lifted its stay on Akrama-Sakrama, thereby allowing the government to regularise constructions violating municipal bylaws and commercial structures built in residential layouts. The stay had remained in operation from 2007 to December 2016.

Civic bodies across the state had expected to earn thousands of crores. Owners of residential and commercial properties violating the law were hoping to benefit from the scheme.

What it’s about
Akrama-Sakrama is a scheme proposed by the government to collect penalties and regularise municipal bylaw violations and unauthorised land use. The Karnataka government had been talking about the scheme for years before it turned it into a law in 2013. Akrama-Sakrama then ran into legal hurdles, with critics saying it cashes in on violations and gives them sanctity.