<p>Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the acquisition of one acre at Thalaghattapura for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP). </p>.<p>Justice K S Hemalekha pointed to an unexplained delay of 17 years in concluding the land acquisition proceedings under the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act. </p>.<p>Rathna Reddy S owns one acre of land at Thalaghattapura, Uttarahalli hobli, Bengaluru South taluk, and continues in actual physical possession. The land was notified for the BMICP following a preliminary notification on June 14, 2006, and the final notification on October 16, 2008. </p>.<p>Reddy petitioned the High Court against this, contending that although 17 years have passed from the date of final notification, the acquiring authority neither awarded him compensation for the land nor taken possession in accordance with law. </p>.<p>He further submitted that the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning (BMICAP) office had issued an endorsement on June 5, 2025, categorically stating that no ramp, interchange, link alignment or BMICP facility exists or is proposed upon this land. </p>.<p>Reddy cited a contempt petition in the Supreme Court, in which the state government clarified that 554 acres of excess land had already been handed over to the concessionaire, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited, and that no further land would be delivered. </p>.<p>The KIADB and other authorities opposed the petition, stating that Reddy had approached the court 19 years after the preliminary notification and 17 years after the final notification. NICE Ltd submitted the land is indispensable for the construction of a permanent ramp connecting Kanakapura Road (NH-209) to the BMICP peripheral road and that a makeshift temporary ramp is in place only since the petitioner has not delivered possession. </p>.<p>Justice Hemalekha noted that in in the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation case, the right of restitution and fair compensation, the right to an efficient and expeditious process, and the right to timely conclusion of proceedings are integral components of constitutional protection under Article 300A. </p>.<p>“In the present case, there is an unexplained delay of 17 years after the final notification and in light of the law declared in the decisions referred above, such prolonged and unexplained dormancy destroys the legality of the acquisition. Added to this is the categorical endorsement by the BMICP Planning Authority dated 05.06.2025 stating that the land is not required for the BMICP. The cumulative effect of the following factors; the absence of any subsisting public purpose; gross and inordinate delay in concluding statutory steps, renders the present acquisition one that cannot be sustained; the earlier BMICP decision does not bar the present challenge,” the court said.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the acquisition of one acre at Thalaghattapura for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP). </p>.<p>Justice K S Hemalekha pointed to an unexplained delay of 17 years in concluding the land acquisition proceedings under the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act. </p>.<p>Rathna Reddy S owns one acre of land at Thalaghattapura, Uttarahalli hobli, Bengaluru South taluk, and continues in actual physical possession. The land was notified for the BMICP following a preliminary notification on June 14, 2006, and the final notification on October 16, 2008. </p>.<p>Reddy petitioned the High Court against this, contending that although 17 years have passed from the date of final notification, the acquiring authority neither awarded him compensation for the land nor taken possession in accordance with law. </p>.<p>He further submitted that the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning (BMICAP) office had issued an endorsement on June 5, 2025, categorically stating that no ramp, interchange, link alignment or BMICP facility exists or is proposed upon this land. </p>.<p>Reddy cited a contempt petition in the Supreme Court, in which the state government clarified that 554 acres of excess land had already been handed over to the concessionaire, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited, and that no further land would be delivered. </p>.<p>The KIADB and other authorities opposed the petition, stating that Reddy had approached the court 19 years after the preliminary notification and 17 years after the final notification. NICE Ltd submitted the land is indispensable for the construction of a permanent ramp connecting Kanakapura Road (NH-209) to the BMICP peripheral road and that a makeshift temporary ramp is in place only since the petitioner has not delivered possession. </p>.<p>Justice Hemalekha noted that in in the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation case, the right of restitution and fair compensation, the right to an efficient and expeditious process, and the right to timely conclusion of proceedings are integral components of constitutional protection under Article 300A. </p>.<p>“In the present case, there is an unexplained delay of 17 years after the final notification and in light of the law declared in the decisions referred above, such prolonged and unexplained dormancy destroys the legality of the acquisition. Added to this is the categorical endorsement by the BMICP Planning Authority dated 05.06.2025 stating that the land is not required for the BMICP. The cumulative effect of the following factors; the absence of any subsisting public purpose; gross and inordinate delay in concluding statutory steps, renders the present acquisition one that cannot be sustained; the earlier BMICP decision does not bar the present challenge,” the court said.</p>