Karnataka HC Quashes BDA Demolition Notice To Bengaluru Apartment Residents, Finds No Approved Plan Or Site Relinquishment

In brief

The question

Whether the alleged layout plan for Sy. Nos. 23 and 25 had been deemed approved under Section 15(2) of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, such that Sites Nos. 89 and 90 were reserved for civic amenity purposes.

The court held

The Court allowed the petitions and quashed the notice dated 10 February 2021.

It also directed

It directed the respondents not to interfere with the petitioners’ possession of the residential properties on Sites Nos. 89 and 90.

The BDA may take steps if it considers the layout unauthorised, but only in accordance with law and after hearing the petitioners.

01Facts

The petitioners were owners or residents of flats constructed on Sites Nos. 89 and 90 in Sy. Nos. 23 and 25 of Mailasandra Village.

pp. 11–13 · ¶ 2(iii), 3–4

The BDA’s Assistant Executive Engineer issued a notice dated 10 February 2021 asserting that the sites were reserved for civic amenity purposes, directing demolition of the construction and requiring the property to be handed over to the BDA.

pp. 11–13 · ¶ 2(iii), 3–4

The petitioners challenged the notice, disputing that any layout plan had been approved or deemed approved and that the sites had been relinquished to the BDA.

pp. 11–13 · ¶ 2(iii), 3–4

On the Court’s direction, the BDA inspected the sites and produced records stating that no layout plan had been submitted or sanctioned and that there was no deemed approval.

pp. 14–16 · ¶ 6–8

02Issues

i.Whether the alleged layout plan for Sy. Nos. 23 and 25 had been deemed approved under Section 15(2) of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, such that Sites Nos. 89 and 90 were reserved for civic amenity purposes.

pp. 12–13, 16 · ¶ 4–5, 9

ii.Whether the Assistant Executive Engineer could issue the impugned notice directing demolition and handover of the sites when the record showed no plan approval or relinquishment in favour of the BDA.

pp. 16–17 · ¶ 10–11

03Law Applied

Section 15(2) of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, was invoked by the BDA on the basis that a layout plan would be deemed approved if no decision were made within the prescribed 90-day period.

p. 13 · ¶ 5

The Court’s decision turned on the documentary record: the BDA’s own records stated that no plan had been submitted or sanctioned and that deemed approval had not arisen; the Court also found no relinquishment of Sites Nos. 89 and 90 in favour of the BDA.

pp. 15–17 · ¶ 7–10

No judicial precedent was relied upon.

Provisions in the judgment · 1 · Linked ones open on LawLens

KARNATAKA TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT, 1961 Section 15

04Reasoning

The BDA initially justified its action by asserting that the proposed plan identified Sites Nos. 89 and 90 as civic amenity sites and had been deemed approved under Section 15(2).

pp. 15–17 · ¶ 7–11

However, the BDA’s inspection and records contradicted that position: one record stated there was no deemed approval, and another stated that no plan had been submitted or sanctioned.

pp. 15–17 · ¶ 7–11

In the absence of deemed approval or relinquishment of the sites, the Court held that the Assistant Executive Engineer had no basis for issuing the notice as though the sites were reserved for civic amenity and liable to be taken over.

pp. 15–17 · ¶ 7–11