Karnataka High Court rebukes authorities over non-removal of encroachments at Gulbarga fort

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has pulled up the authorities for failing to comply with the directions issued five years ago to remove the encroachments at the Gulbarga Fort, a national monument situated in Kalaburagi.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind, has directed the Regional Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner to submit before the court on oath the roadmap and the mechanism which may be implemented by the authorities to remove the encroachments.

The bench was hearing the PIL filed in 2018 by Sharan Desai contending that there are 194 illegal occupants residing in the protected area as per information obtained by him under RTI in May 2011. He had stated that both the state and the central authorities have not taken any action.

At the hearing on Monday (January 6), the government advocate submitted that a scheme has already been prepared to rehabilitate 282 families living there. However, the petitioner refuted this and said that it is only an excuse and that no scheme is so far prepared. The division bench noted that it is a matter of not only serious concern but depreciable and asked the authorities to file their respective affidavits on or before February 25, 2025, the next date of hearing.

The bench has now directed the Regional Commissioner, Kalaburagi, to file his personal affidavit to clearly point out as to what prevented the said authority from complying with and obeying the directions in the order dated November 8, 2019, specifically explaining as to why the compliance report is not filed.

“In view of the clear order passed by the Court, the conduct on part of the respondent-authorities cuts a sorry figure. Not only that the authorities have failed to remove the encroachments, they have blatantly disregarded the directions of the Court in the order dated November 8, 2019. Even the compliance report is not cared to be filed. When the counsels appearing for the respective respondents were queried about filing of compliance reports, all of them were at the receiving end. It is an admitted position that despite passage of five years, no compliance report is filed. This conduct is contemptuous when it openly disregards the directions of the Court,” the bench said.

The court has also directed the Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, to file an affidavit with pictorial depiction as to what steps they have taken and are now taking to protect the monument to maintain its original status and to prevent its deterioration.