The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the State government to file its response to a PIL petition seeking a direction to the government to table the report of the inquiry commission set up in 2015 to probe the allegation of illegalities in denotification of the notified lands from the Arkavathi layout.
A Division Bench, comprising acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum, passed the order on the petition filed by Committee for Public Accountability, a city-based charitable trust.
It has been pointed out in the petition that the commission, headed by H.S. Kempanna, a retired judge of the High Court, was set up in 2015 to probe among other terms and references that whether deletion/exclusion of lands by the Bangalore Development Authority and de-notification of lands by the government to a total extent of 983.33 acres of lands are in violation of various orders of the High Court and the apex court.
The government so far has not laid the report before the Legislature despite the Section 3(4) of the Commission of Inquiry Act,1952 mandates tabling of the reports within six months of submission of the report, along with the memorandum of action taken based on the report, it was contended in the petition pointing out that the commission submitted its final report way back in August 2017.
