Karnataka High Court stays formation of SIT to look into ‘land encroachment’ by Kumaraswamy  

H.D. Kumaraswamy | Photo Credit: file photo

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday stayed a Government Order (GO) constituting a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to examine the alleged encroachment of certain portions of government land by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy adjoining the one owned by him at Kethaganahalli village of Bidadi hobli in Ramanagara taluk of Bengaluru South district.

Justice E.S. Indiresh passed the interim order on a petition filed by Mr. Kumaraswamy questioning the legality of the GO, issued on January 28, 2025, constituting the SIT, led by the Bengaluru Regional Commissioner.

Appearing for Mr. Kumaraswamy, Senior Advocate Udaya Holla along with advocate Nishanth A.V., contended that the GO had no legal existence in the eyes of law as it was not a “notification” as it was not published in the official gazette.

Section 195 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 and Section 8 of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011 mandate issuance of “notification” for delegation of power, and the meaning of “notification” was “a notification published in the official gazette” as per the provisions of the Karnataka General Clauses Act, 1985, it was contended in the petition.

The SIT on May 29 issued summons to the Union Minister asking him to produce documents with respect to the lands he owned in survey numbers 7 and 8 of Kethaganahalli to investigate the transfer of rights over these properties.

Published - June 19, 2025 09:06 pm IST