The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday asked three officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to deposit ₹50,000 each as fine from their personal resources and appear personally before the court on July 14 for cancelling a building licence, issued in favour of a religious institutions, without following procedure.
Justice Vineet Kothari passed the order on a petition filed by Sri Samsthana–Gokarna Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt, which has questioned the BBMP’s January 2016 communication of cancelling the plan, sanctioned in 2013, for construction of a community hall at No. 2A, J.P. Road, Vishwa Bharati House Building Coop. Society, Banashanakri 3rd Stage. The court also stayed cancellation of the plan.
The court issued directions to Syed Mubashir Ahmed, Assistant Director, South Division, Town Planning; H.T. Bette Gowda, Chief Engineer, South Zone; and A.J. Hemachandra, Joint Commissioner, South Zone. The trio had taken action for cancelling the sanctioned plan merely based on a letter written by an assistant executive engineer of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) stating that land was earmarked for a civic amenity purpose and without issuing a notice to the mutt.
The mutt has claimed that it purchased the property in 1975, prior to the BDA coming into existence, and alleged that the BDA had erroneously recorded the entry as civic amenity site for the property owned by the mutt.
However, the court orally indicated that it may spare the officials if they take sensible action by next date of hearing.
