SC relief to Sadananda Gowda in land case

In a relief to union law minister D V Sadananda Gowda, the Supreme Court today set aside a Karnataka High Court order quashing sanction granted to Gowda and a BJP MLA to construct a five-storey building in Bengaluru.

The high court had directed Bangalore municipal authorities to acquire the land allotted to for building violations. But an apex court bench led by Justice Madan B Lokur found merit in Gowda's appeal challenging the 2012 high court order.

The high court had questioned the construction of a five-story commercial building against the lease agreement and the building plans.

The apex court had heard the appeals filed by Gowda and former food and civil supplies minister D N Jeevaraj against the high court judgment directing the authorities to resume their plots in Bangalore.

"We notice that materials placed before the court and on examination of the relevant conditions in the lease-cum-sale agreement and the zonal regulations, as modified in accordance with revised master plan 2015, a construction of a multi-storied building with or without a plan is not permissible nor can be permitted," the high court had said.

Gowda argued that the high court had committed an error in its order as there was no violation of lease agreement in the initial sanctioned plan.

The high court, which passed the order on a PIL by advocate Nagalakshmi Bai, had contended that the two had violated lease-cum-sale agreement and asked BDA to act within three months as per agreement.