The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list an application to recall its February 21 order allowing the withdrawal of a land grab case against Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
The petitioner, Kabbale Gowda, on February 21 conveyed his wish to withdraw the case suddenly. The case, which had been pending before the apex court for nearly three years, was not even listed for hearing that day.
On Tuesday, the NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS), represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, alleged before a Bench led by Justice A.K. Sikri that the complainants, who had spearheaded the case in the apex court, had one after the other been “compromised” and had withdrawn. The application said the Karnataka government was itself in cahoots with the accused persons. The case involves politicians cutting across party lines from the State — from Mr. Shivakumar to former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
“The State authorities seem to have abdicated all responsibility by not pursuing the prosecution at any stage. The entire burden of prosecution has fallen on private individuals, who have been continuously intimidated… the petitioner [Mr. Gowda] has been compromised and has chosen to withdraw the special leave petition,” the application said.
The recall application said the SPS was not even informed by Mr. Gowda about the his decision to quit. The withdrawal amounted to an attempt to “subvert the cause of justice”. The impunity with which the accused are acting is a “blot on the rule of law in this country”, the application said.
The petition was filed against a decision of the High Court of Karnataka in December 2015 to set aside a trial court order of February 2012 to prosecute the politicians and the other accused.
The HC quashed all of the criminal proceedings. Mr. Gowda was the de facto complainant in the case.
Land history
The history of the land dates back to 1962 and reveals the alleged corrupt acts, right from the level of village accountant to the then Chief Minister, the petition said. The then purchaser decided to convert the land’s use from agricultural to industrial. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) acquired the land in 1986.
Despite the acquisition, Mr. Shivakumar, who was then Urban Development Minister, purchased the land from the original owner for ₹1.62 crore in 2003, the petition said. Land registration was allegedly done despite revenue documents showing that the land stood in the BDA’s name. In 2004, another official went on to illegally convert the land use of the property from industrial to residential.
“The accused Yeddyurappa, in his capacity as Chief Minister, denotified the land from acquisition proceedings on May 13, 2010,” the petition stated. It also said that Mr. Shivakumar had subsequently entered into joint agreements with other companies to develop the land in 2004 and 2011.
