In a huge relief to those who have invested money to buy flats in a project developed by Prestige Estates Projects Ltd. at Pattandur Agrahara village near Whitefield, the High Court of Karnataka on Friday quashed the State government’s 2015 order to take back land on which the flats are being built.
Observing that “allegations of fraud made are unfounded”, the court said “merely because a different establishment takes over and there is possibility of looking at the action in a different way, settled things cannot be unsettled thereby, jeopardising the rights of third parties.”
Justice B.S. Patil passed the order while allowing the petition filed by Prestige Ltd. and Joy Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd. They had questioned the Government Order dated August 11, 2015, as well as an order passed by the Revenue Department’s Principal Secretary on August 6, 2015.
These orders were issued for taking back 3 acres and 23 guntas of land for the reason that Joy Ice Cream had illegally sold the land to Prestige Ltd. by violating the condition imposed for using the land for developing a software park and serviced apartments.
The court noted that the present government seems to have proceeded on the basis that “action of all the authorities – BDA, KIADB, Deputy Commissioner, including that of the State government, taken earlier were illegal, and therefore, it was required to correct the same.”
This, the court said, only shows that the State government has traversed the scope of enquiry before it and has ignored the rights of the third parties, which have set in on account of the consistent actions taken by the authorities and the government earlier.
Noticing that Prestige Ltd. had invested a huge amount on the project and several innocent individuals invested in the flats constructed, the court said that “it was neither just nor reasonable for the State government to pass such an order annulling all transactions, including the sale deeds, executed.”
The court also observed that the State government in 2005-06 had allotted the 3 acres and 23 guntas, situated at survey number 42 of Pattandur Agrahara villege, to Joy Ice Creams Ltd. through KIADB without imposing any condition, but it was the Deputy Commissioner (DC) who had imposed certain conditions. But the DC, in 2011 had withdrawn the conditions, with the consent of the State realising that he had no authority in law to impose conditions, the court said.
Observing that the DC had rightly withdrew it, the court said the order passed by the government in 2015 suffers from serious illegality and without jurisdiction.
The court also observed that the 3 acres and 23 guntas was sold to Joy Ice Creams Ltd. for around ₹5 crore mainly because this piece of land was in the midst of other land belonging to the company.
