The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Karnataka High Court order dismissing challenges against the Akrama-Sakrama scheme to regularise unauthorised developments and constructions across the State.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud prima facie disagreed with the Karnataka High Court, which had on December 13, 2016, cursorily declined to even entertain a bunch of public interest petitions challenging the legality of the scheme.
The apex court decision came on special leave petitions filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, represented by senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Sajan Poovayya.
The Bench admitted the petitions and converted them to a civil appeal.
The apex court said applications made under the Akrama-Sakrama scheme should not be processed until the appeal is finally heard by the Supreme Court.
This has, in effect, amounted to a complete stay on the implementation of the scheme.
The court further declined a request from the State of Karnataka and BBMP to expedite the hearings. The High Court had found no merit in the petitions against the scheme despite contentions raised that the regularisation scheme was against the very concept of planned development envisaged under the law.
The petitions had contended that the Akrama-Sakrama scheme was unconstitutional, and had termed the regularisation policy as indiscriminate.
“This collusion around public money and land lies at the crux of corrupt politics in Bengaluru. Through Akrama Sakrama, the government was more actively rewarding the culture of corruption,” Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in reaction to the Supreme Court order in a statement released by his office.
Decision came on
SLP filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar
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