The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed B.H. Anil Kumar, Commissioner of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palika (BBMP), to show cause why action should not be initiated against him for contempt of court for disobeying the court’s direction to provide the government with a Kannada version of the Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging Bylaws 2018.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar directed the Commissioner to file an affidavit by October 15.
Who will benefit from the delay in publishing the bylaw in Kannada, the bench orally asked while observing that nothing moves in the BBMP unless the court passes an order.
The government had on September 7 published the English version of the bylaw in the gazette. On September 9, the court had directed the BBMP to immediately furnish a Kannada version as the law mandates publication in both languages.
The BBMP counsel contended that the delay in translation from English to Kannada was due to overburden on translators.
