Karnataka HC quashes 2-decade-old land acquisition; exposes BDA’s lapses

Bengaluru: More than 300 families who bought sites in Banashankari 6th Stage two decades ago are in shock after recently learning that the Karnataka High Court has quashed the BDA’s land acquisition proceedings.

The allottees suspect that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) failed to mount a strong legal defence or inform them about the ongoing case.

Many of these plot owners discovered the court ruling when they were preparing to build houses, especially after the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) recently began laying Cauvery water supply lines in the layout. They were stopped from accessing their sites, pointing to the court's order.

In Writ Petition No 16865 of 2022, the original landowners had challenged the validity of the acquisition, initiated nearly two decades earlier, on the grounds that the process had either lapsed or had been abandoned. The landowners also cited a 2010 letter from the then chief minister, directing the BDA to withdraw the acquisition. They further pointed out that revenue records still listed them as owners and that similar plots nearby had already been de-notified through court orders.

In its response, the BDA claimed that the land had been taken over through official notifications and mahazars, and that compensation was either paid or deposited in court.

After hearing both sides, the High Court's single-judge bench deemed the BDA’s acquisition "bad in law" and noted that the authority had "abandoned the scheme of acquisition". 

The court's ruling is expected to affect approximately 20 acres of land spread across several survey numbers 78/11, 78/12, 78/15, 78/16, 78/21, 94/9, 94/7, 94/14, 94/17, 94/18, 94/24, 97/1, 84, 85 of Hemmigepura village in Kengeri and survey number 16/1 of Gankallu village. Some of the allottees are still unaware of the order.

In its letter, the aggrieved allottees requested the BDA to defend the acquisition in court. They argue that the authority's inaction could set a dangerous precedent and jeopardise other similar layouts. They also urged the BDA to counter the petitioners' claim that the layout was incomplete when the BDA has already taken possession of the land, formed sites, and allotted them to the public.

Speaking to DH, BDA Commissioner N Jayaram, who is set to retire at the end of this month, said the authority has already filed an appeal in the High Court challenging the single-bench order.