VENKATAGIRI, vs RANGE FOREST OFFICER,

Court
Karnataka High Court

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HC-KAR
NC: 2026:KHC:58140
CRL.RP No. 1437 of 2025


CNR: KAHC010635052025





IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

TH
DATED THIS THE 14 DAY OF OCTOBER, 2026


BEFORE

THE HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE GEETHA K.B.



CRIMINAL REVISION PETITION NO. 1437 OF 2025



BETWEEN:

VENKATAGIRI,
S/O LATE KRISHNAGOWDA,
AGED ABOUT 55 YEARS,
R/AT KEREKOPPA, BHEEMANAKONE POST,
SAGARA TALUK,
SHIMOGA DISTRICT - 577 417.
…PETITIONER







(BY SRI RAKESH B. BHATT, ADVOCATE)

AND:

RANGE FOREST OFFICER,
SAGARA RANGE, SAGAR,
SHIVAMOGGA DISTRICT - 577 401.
REPRESENTED BY
STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR.
…RESPONDENT


(BY SRI VINAY MAHADEVAIAH, HCGP)

THIS CRL.RP IS FILED U/S 397 R/W 401 OF CR.PC (FILED
U/S 438 R/W 442 BNSS) PRAYING TO SET ASIDE THE ORDER
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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NC: 2026:KHC:58140
CRL.RP No. 1437 of 2025


CNR: KAHC010635052025



DATED 05.08.2025 PASSED BY THE HONBLE KARNATAKA LAND
GRABBING PROHIBITION SPL.COURT AT BENGALURU (COURT
HALL NO.2) BY DISMISSING I.A.NO.I FILED BY THE
PETITIONER IN LGC(G) 9235/2021 (ANNEXURE-A) AND ALLOW
I.A.NO.1 FILED BY THE PETITIONER UNDER 227 OF CR.PC.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY,
ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:
CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE GEETHA K.B.

ORAL ORDER

This is the revision petition filed under Section 397
and 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ( in short
'Cr.PC') by the revision petitioner/accused seeking to set
aside the order dated 05.08.2025 passed on IA No.1 in
LGC (G) No.9235/2021 (Annexure - A) on the file of
Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court,
Bengaluru (Court Hall - 2) (in short, 'the Special Court')
and to discharge him by allowing the IA No. 1.
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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CRL.RP No. 1437 of 2025


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2. The parties would be referred with their ranks,
as they were before the Special Court for the sake of
convenience and clarity.
3. The Special Court has taken cognizance of the
offence punishable under Section 9(1) of the Karnataka
Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011 (in short 'the Act')
against the accused on the allegation that he had
encroached upon one acre 12 guntas in survey No.119
which forms part of the forest area and cultivating the
same and thereby committed the offence under the
aforesaid section.
4. After filing this complaint, the Special Court has
taken cognizance of the offence and issued summons to
the accused. After his appearance, the accused has filed
application under Section 227 of Cr.PC. praying for
discharge.
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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NC: 2026:KHC:58140
CRL.RP No. 1437 of 2025


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5. After hearing both sides, the said application
was dismissed, which is under challenge in this revision
petition.
6. Section 9 of the Act prescribes the procedure
and powers of the Special Court. The Special Court may
take cognizance of a case and proceed in accordance with
the Act upon consideration of the material placed before it.
7. According to Section 3 of the Act, land grabbing
in any form is prohibited and declared unlawful and
punishable under the provisions of the said Act.
8. Section 4(1) of the Act says that 'no person
shall commit the offence of land grabbing'.
9. Section 4(2) of the Act says that 'on or after
commencement of the Act, any person continue to be in
occupation otherwise than as a lawful tenant of a grabbed
land belonging to the Government, Hindu religious
institution and charitable endowments, local authorities
statutory or non-statutory body shall be guilty of an
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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CRL.RP No. 1437 of 2025


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offence and he is punishable under Section 4(3) of the
Act'.
10. Considering this, the Special Court has taken
cognizance under Section 4(3) of the Act that there are
materials to proceed against the accused/revision
petitioner that he has committed the offence under
Section 4(3) that he is the land grabber.
11. Section 2(d) defines 'land'. It reads as follows:
d) “Land’’ includes,-
(i) land belonging to the Government, Wakf
or the Hindu Religious Institutions and
Charitable Endowments, a local authority, a
statutory or non statutory body owned,
controlled or managed by the Government;
(ii) rights in or over land, benefits to arise
out of land, and buildings, structures and
other things attached to the earth or
permanently fastened to anything attached
to the earth;
(e) “land grabber’’ means a person or group of
persons or a Society, who commits or has
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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committed land grabbing and includes any
person who gives financial aid to any person for
taking illegal possession of lands or for
construction of unauthorised structures thereon,
or who collects or attempts to collect from any
occupiers of such lands rent, compensation and
other charges by criminal intimidation, or who
abets the doing of any of the above mentioned
acts; and also includes the successors in
interest.

12. According to the Proviso of this section, the
land shall not include, if any application under Section
94A, 94B, 94C and 94CC of the Karnataka Land Revenue
Act is pending and if any application under the Scheduled
Rights and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Recognition of
Forest Rights Clause Act, 2006 (Central Act 2 of 2007) is
pending.
13. It is the contention of the revision petitioner
that he has given application under both the provisions
and those applications are still pending for consideration.
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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CRL.RP No. 1437 of 2025


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14. The learned HCGP fairly concedes that the
application given by the revision petitioner under the
Scheduled Rights and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
Recognition of Forest Rights Clause Act, 2006 (Central Act
2 of 2007) is still pending for consideration.
15. As per the Annexure - K1 dated 31.11.2015,
the application given by the revision petitioner for grant of
land was disposed of, because the land in question is not a
forest land. It further reveals that application was given by
the revision petitioner for grant of 3 acres in survey
No.119/1; thus as per Annexure-K1 said application was
disposed of. However, even though the endorsement was
given that the land in question is not a forest land,
subsequently uncertainty appears to have arisen between
the departments. Hence, as per Annexure-H1 dated
28.10.2024 an endorsement dated 21.09.2022 given to
the revision petitioner, the joint survey has to be
conducted to decide whether the land in survey No.119 is
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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forest land or revenue land and thus said factum is still
pending for consideration.
16. It is not yet decided, whether it is forest land or
revenue land. It appears that after disposal of application
as per Annexure-K1, the revision petitioner has given one
more application which is still pending for consideration as
per the submission of learned HCGP. Hence, the
consideration of the fact that whether survey No.119 was
forest land, as per the Notification of 1988 cannot be
considered at this stage. Anyway when the application is
pending for consideration, as it is, there is no offence
committed by the revision petitioner. Thus, taking
cognizance by the trial Court is premature in nature. Only
after disposal of the pending application, the complainant
can take action and then only cognizance could be taken
against the revision petitioner.
17. Under these circumstances prima facie taking
cognizance by the trial Court itself is not proper; it is
proper that the revision petitioner shall be discharged for
Digitally Signed By:
K B GEETHA

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NC: 2026:KHC:58140
CRL.RP No. 1437 of 2025


CNR: KAHC010635052025



the offence alleged against him for the present. However,
the complainant is at liberty to take suitable action against
the revision petitioner only after disposal of the
application.
18. In view of the above observation, this Court
passes the following:
ORDER
The Criminal revision petition is allowed.
Presently the revision petitioner/accused is
discharged of the offence punishable under Section 9(1) of
the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011.
However, the liberty is given to take appropriate action
after disposal of the application of the revision petitioner.
Digitally Signed By:

K B GEETHA
(GEETHA K.B.)
JUDGE




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