SC declines plea against 'hakku pathras' order

The Supreme Court has declined to consider a plea against the Karnataka High Court's judgement that had quashed the Special Deputy Commissioner's order confirming allotment of free sites to the homeless persons in Bengaluru on the basis of 'hakku pathras' issued in 1979.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari, however, directed the Special Deputy Commissioner to decide the matter afresh within a period of three months. It directed for sending the copy of its order to the officer and also sought a compliance report to the registry within the period.

J H Parvathamma and others, the land allottees, challenged the validity of the high court's order of February 28, 2019, which had set aside the order issued by the officer on August 4, 2010, for “exceeding his jurisdiction”.

The matter related to valuable land of the state, measuring one acre and 34 guntas, in Bengaluru South which remained stuck in litigation since 1979.

“The state has been trying its best to recover the land belonging to it for the last 40 years. Cases after cases have been filed by various persons without a semblance of any right. There is virtually no material to sustain the grant of land to any of the respondents,” the high court has said.

It has ordered the Special Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru district to reconsider the matter within six months in terms of the directions issued on January 27, 2009. The high court had then said only those would be entitled to the benefit of the Chief Minister's order who were the original allottees and given 'hakku pathras' and they had built their dwelling units and they would be rendered homeless if evicted.

'Hakku pathras' is a title deed issued to underprivileged, poor and slum dwellers out of government land.