The Supreme Court of Karnataka overturned the decision of allotting the land to a trust headed by the wife of BJP MP Umesh G Jadhav. A fine of Rs. 1 Lakh was also imposed on the Karnataka Housing Board for allotting the plot worth 10 crores at a minute amount of Rs. 22 lakh. The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Judge Sachin Shankar Magadum directed the KHB to take possession of the premises. The court also directed the state government to take appropriate action and conduct an in-house investigation in the said matter. The KHB should conduct a proper departmental inquiry against the guilty officer and recover the costs. This exercise must be completed within 6 months, the court added.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Koramangala-based Adinarayanashetty against the allotment of the site to the Murthy Charitable Trust, represented by its president Gayathri, the wife of MP Jadhav. The court said the records show that the conditional sale deed dated 23 August 2004 has not been met. Another sale deed was issued by the KHB in 2020 without complying with the allotment regulations.
Advocate H Sunil Kumar, representing the petitioner, argued vehemently that the trust was preferred by KHB as the president and the actions of the officials caused losses to the state’s exchequer.
The KHB issued an absolute sale deed in favor of the trust on July 23, 2020, for a sum of Rs 21.87 lakh, including Rs 3.87 lakh paid for the site allotment in 2004. Despite all of this, the condition of sale was violated by the trust by not constructing the building for educational purposes within two years.
