Observing that location for putting up a skywalk at Domlur was changed “arbitrarily” apparently with an “antedated” letter for change of location, the High Court of Karnataka has directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to construct the skywalk at the originally specified location. Justice L. Narayana Swamy passed the order while allowing a petition filed by D. Yashaswini, who complained that the location for constructing the skywalk was shifted illegally to the location in front of the site owned by her at Amarajyothi HBCS Layout, Domlur.
The skywalk was originally specified to be constructed near Embassy Golf Links on Inner Ring Road (at Amarjyothi HBCS Layout) from the corner of a Hero Honda showroom to the corner of a TVS showroom.
The court noticed that on December 5, 2013, the BBMP issued work order in favour of the contractor, Prakash Arts Pvt. Ltd., for the construction of the skywalk and also entered into an agreement. Also, the communications such submission of drawings, request for approval for construction, etc., which were submitted between January and August 2014, when ‘bhoomi puja’ was said to be performed, were all related to construction at the originally specified location. But the BBMP had claimed that the letter for changing the location was submitted by the contractor on December 5, 2013, the date on which the work order was issued for the originally specified location.
Observing developments prior to and subsequent to December 5, 2013, the court said the letter for change of location “must have been inserted or antedated as contended by the petitioner” and the BBMP’s actions were “not free from mala fides .”
The court also said clauses in the request for proposal for building skywalks at various locations permit changes only in structural designs and not the location, which was finalised after a feasibility study.
