Karnataka High Court Slams BDA for Colluding With Real Estate Interests to Bend Regulations
The Karnataka High Court has condemned the Bangalore Development Authority for aiding a powerful developer by reducing access road widths. A Division Bench noted the agency bypassed previous legal mandates from the Supreme Court to favor private interests.
Key takeaways
- The Karnataka High Court quashed a BDA resolution that reduced a mandated 18-meter access road to 9.5 meters for a private developer.
- Judges accused the BDA of mala fide actions and bypassing orders from the Lokayukta, High Court, and Supreme Court to favor powerful interests.
- The case involves a long-running dispute over landlocked property in Jakkur Plantation Village held by brothers J.V. Venkatesh and J.V. Srinivas.
- The court highlighted a 2020 state gazette notification as evidence of the government bending rules to assist the real estate firm Township Promoters.
Judicial Rebuke for State Machinery and Land Interests
In a scathing assessment of urban governance in Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court has accused the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) of acting in bad faith to assist a powerful real estate developer. The Division Bench, consisting of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice T.M. Nadaf, remarked that local land interests frequently manipulate legal frameworks and state institutions to their advantage. The court’s observations came while ruling on an appeal by J.V. Venkatesh and J.V. Srinivas, whose three-acre property in Jakkur Plantation Village became landlocked due to BDA's shifting resolutions.
Chronology of Institutional Reversals
The legal dispute centers on the width of an access road through a 25-acre estate owned by Township Promoters (TP). While initial mandates required an 18-meter-wide road to ensure access to the appellants' land, the BDA repeatedly attempted to reduce this to 9.5 meters. The court highlighted a timeline of concerning administrative shifts:
- 2011: The Lokayukta directed the BDA to provide an 18-meter road per the 1995 Comprehensive Development Plan.
- 2014-2016: Both the High Court and Supreme Court upheld the Lokayukta's directive, dismissing appeals from the developer.
- 2020: The BDA initially passed a resolution for an 18-meter road, admitting a previous 2018 attempt to limit it to 9.5 meters violated court orders.
- 2024: A new BDA Commissioner abruptly revived the 9.5-meter plan, disregarding the agency’s own January 2020 commitments and previous judicial rulings.
State Machinery Under Scrutiny
The Bench described the developer as “extremely powerful,” noting that even the State government appeared to intervene by issuing a July 2020 gazette notification that withdrew the Revised Master Plan 2031. This move effectively directed the BDA to use older standards to justify narrower roads. The judges characterized the BDA's latest turnaround as an arbitrary and illegal exercise, suggesting the appointment of leadership was influenced by private interests to bypass legal constraints. The court emphasized that as land values skyrocket in Bengaluru, the pressure on natural resources has allowed organized interests to subvert the rule of law for profit.
Source: The Hindu — National
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