The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bidar Fort: HC asks State to translate and mark documents

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Bidar Fort: HC asks State to translate and mark documents

Staff Reporter

Documents relating to lands around the fort were in Persian, Urdu and also in Kannada

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Friday requested the Government advocate to translate and mark several documents, particularly those relating to the Department of Inams, on certain tracts of land adjoining the famed fort of Bidar.

The court passed the order after it found that several documents relating to lands around the fort are in Persian, Urdu and even in Kannada.

The court was dealing with appeals by the State Government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) challenging the grant of a part of land by the Bidar Land Tribunal to some beneficiaries.

While the ASI is in charge of the maintenance and upkeep of the fort built by the Bahman Shahs who ruled over several districts of north Karnataka, including Bijapur, Gulbarga, Bidar, Ahmednagar and other areas, the State too has filed an appeal against the order of the tribunal. The ASI is contending that the Fort is a protected monument and that nobody or no agency could tamper with it or grant land around it. He said that the Fort land could not have been granted under any circumstances.

The Government advocate on Friday alleged that though the Assistant Commissioner who is part of the tribunal had objected to the grant, the other members had gone ahead with the grant.

He alleged that there appears to be collusion between some of the officials and the beneficiaries. Otherwise, the land could not have been granted.

While the ASI urged the court to quash the grant, saying that the Fort is a heritage structure and that it must be protected, the State wants the tribunal order to be overturned.

The court observed that the State is challenging the act of one of its instrumentalities and that to after a lapse of several years. “What was the Tahsildar doing when the land granted to the beneficiaries in 1983 had come up for registration under Form 1?” it asked.

Besides, no inquiry had been held so far and it is only now that the State has come up in appeal.

The court then adjourned hearing on the case.

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