The Hindu : Karnataka News : Notice to BMP on works in villages

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Notice to BMP on works in villages

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, DEC. 30. The Karnataka High Court on Thursday ordered issue of notices to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and other respondents on a public interest litigation petition by residents of Avalahalli of Uttarahalli in Bangalore South.

The petitioners, Kempahanumaiah and four others, said Veerabhadranagar and Sriramnagar do not come under the jurisdiction of the civic body. However, it has taken up construction of drainages and road works in these villages. Besides, it has sanctioned construction of buildings.

The petitioners said the civic body has sanctioned building plans in land earmarked for parks under the comprehensive development plan (CDP) of the Bangalore Development Authority. The civic body has violated the town planning rules and the CDP norms by sanctioning building plans in land under survey nos. 87 (10.8 hectares) and 74 (2.4 hectares) in the villages.

They said the civic body has asked the electoral officers to include the residents of the two villages in the voters' list of Gali Anjeneya ward. This is illegal and unconstitutional.

They urged the court to direct the civic body not to take up development projects and not to change the nature of land.

A Division Bench comprising Justice N.S. Veerabhadraiah and Justice K. Bhaktavatsala ordered issue of notices to the respondents and posted the case to January.

Notice to police

The Division Bench on Thursday ordered issue of notice to the Davangere Police on an appeal by a woman and her son from Davangere.

In the appeal, Suvarnamma and Manjunath challenged their conviction in a dowry-death case by the Additional Sessions Judge and Fast Track Court of Davangere and sought bail.

The Basavanagar Police in Davangere booked Suvarnamma and her children, Manjunath and Geetha, of Chowkipet in Davangere. Soumya married Manjunath in 1995. On August 31, 1998, Soumya was admitted to hospital. In her dying declaration, she said the three had been harassing her for dowry and her mother-in-law set her on fire. She died four days later.

The Davangere court acquitted Ms. Geetha for lack of evidence, but sentenced Suvarnamma and Manjunath to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 on them. The appellants have challenged the conviction on the ground that the Davangere court has erred in holding them guilty.

The Bench directed the Special Public Prosecutor to issue notice to the Davangere Police and asked the authorities to file objections to the interlocutory application of the appellants.

Adjourned

The Division Bench has adjourned an appeal by the Bank Officers' Cooperative Housing Society of BTM Layout.

The society has appealed against a single-judge order of December 9. It had petitioned the High Court seeking a direction to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to sanction a group-housing scheme on two acres and 16 guntas of land under survey no. 14/16 at Tavarkere village in Begur hobli of Bangalore South.

The society claimed that the single judge had been misled into passing an interim order directing the authorities not to dispossess a man of his land at Tavarkere. It said the land was acquired in 1977 and possession taken in 1981. The society was granted possession certificate in 1982.

The Bench adjourned the case to January.

APMC nomination

The Karnataka High Court has ordered issue of emergent notices to the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) and other respondents on a petition by some members of the committee of Heggadadevana Kote in Mysore district.

The petitioners, M.S. Krishnappa and others, said the director of APMC, Bangalore, is attempting to dislodge the elected APMC president, M.B. Anand. They said the director has violated rules by nominating two members to the APMC, Santhe Sagar, at Heggadadevana Kote. They have been nominated because the director wants the support of one-third of the members to unseat the president.

They said there is no resolution of the APMC to remove the president. Nor was a no-confidence resolution passed. They urged the court to strike down the nominations and quash the no-confidence notice.

Justice K. Bhaktavatsala ordered issue of emergent notices to the committee and others and adjourned further hearing on the petition.

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