JOIN USA petition has been filed in the High Court of Karnataka seeking directions for declaring the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011, unconstitutional.
G H Nagaraj and others from Chikkaballapur have not only challenged the matter with regard to a case of land encroachment in their hometown but also questioned the Act itself.
The petitioners contended that the Act is against the Constitution of India. The Act does not provide for procedure for a fair trial of an accused, particularly in the matter of dispute regarding title.
Further, the provisions of the Act do not satisfy the precondition of “reasonableness”. The Act does not even provide for an appeal or revision to the aggrieved. Hence, it is highly draconian in its approach and application, they argued.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice P S Dinesh Kumar granted stay on the hearing of a case pending before the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court and ordered notice to the state government in the matter.