<p class="bodytext">The Karnataka High Court’s verdict directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe a land acquisition in Hebbal and Amanikere village is a necessary judicial intervention in a case that lays bare the deep entanglement of State power and private gain. In a scathing judgment, Justices D K Singh and Tara Vitasta Ganju termed the episode a “monumental fraud” and quashed the notification for the acquisition of 55 acres. The land was acquired in 2004 by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) in favour of a private entity, Lakeview Tourism Corporation, that did not even exist at the time of the application. It was incorporated only in 2011. Despite promising a Rs-250 crore investment and 2,000 jobs, its financials revealed a net worth of Rs 8.6 lakh and zero operational income. Crucially, the Bench reiterated the settled principle that fraud vitiates all proceedings, rejecting the state’s argument that earlier judicial orders had granted “finality” to the acquisition. It also flagged that the State High Level Committee cleared the proposal within five days, without due diligence.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The court observed that “State instrumentalities themselves were involved in committing the fraud,” and that the state machinery was misused to “deprive landowners of their valuable property for a pittance” to benefit a non-existent entity. Equally disturbing is how successive governments across party lines allowed this illegal arrangement to persist, even permitting a shift from a tourism project to a lucrative integrated township in 2023, despite no progress for over two decades. Perhaps the most telling aspect is the government’s refusal to accede to the request of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for 45 acres of the acquired land to build a multi-modal transport hub and interchange for three metro lines. While landowners were offered a paltry sum as compensation earlier, BMRCL came forward with a Rs 500-crore package. Yet, it was forced to scale down its demand to nine acres.</p>.MLA hails Karnataka High Court order for CBI probe into Hebbal land transfer.<p class="bodytext">The CBI inquiry must extend beyond officials to politicians across regimes who enabled this fraud. With the acquisition now quashed, the fate of the proposed transport hub hangs in the balance. The government would do well to avoid appealing to the Supreme Court, which would only prolong uncertainty. Instead, it should adopt a course correction: scrap the private project, file a review petition to retain only the land genuinely required for public infrastructure, and ensure fair compensation. In the end, restoring public purpose must take precedence over salvaging a tainted deal.</p>
<p class="bodytext">The Karnataka High Court’s verdict directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe a land acquisition in Hebbal and Amanikere village is a necessary judicial intervention in a case that lays bare the deep entanglement of State power and private gain. In a scathing judgment, Justices D K Singh and Tara Vitasta Ganju termed the episode a “monumental fraud” and quashed the notification for the acquisition of 55 acres. The land was acquired in 2004 by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) in favour of a private entity, Lakeview Tourism Corporation, that did not even exist at the time of the application. It was incorporated only in 2011. Despite promising a Rs-250 crore investment and 2,000 jobs, its financials revealed a net worth of Rs 8.6 lakh and zero operational income. Crucially, the Bench reiterated the settled principle that fraud vitiates all proceedings, rejecting the state’s argument that earlier judicial orders had granted “finality” to the acquisition. It also flagged that the State High Level Committee cleared the proposal within five days, without due diligence.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The court observed that “State instrumentalities themselves were involved in committing the fraud,” and that the state machinery was misused to “deprive landowners of their valuable property for a pittance” to benefit a non-existent entity. Equally disturbing is how successive governments across party lines allowed this illegal arrangement to persist, even permitting a shift from a tourism project to a lucrative integrated township in 2023, despite no progress for over two decades. Perhaps the most telling aspect is the government’s refusal to accede to the request of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for 45 acres of the acquired land to build a multi-modal transport hub and interchange for three metro lines. While landowners were offered a paltry sum as compensation earlier, BMRCL came forward with a Rs 500-crore package. Yet, it was forced to scale down its demand to nine acres.</p>.MLA hails Karnataka High Court order for CBI probe into Hebbal land transfer.<p class="bodytext">The CBI inquiry must extend beyond officials to politicians across regimes who enabled this fraud. With the acquisition now quashed, the fate of the proposed transport hub hangs in the balance. The government would do well to avoid appealing to the Supreme Court, which would only prolong uncertainty. Instead, it should adopt a course correction: scrap the private project, file a review petition to retain only the land genuinely required for public infrastructure, and ensure fair compensation. In the end, restoring public purpose must take precedence over salvaging a tainted deal.</p>
