The High Court of Karnataka has refused to interfere with the sanction granted by the State government for prosecuting V. Shankar, former Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, and two others in a criminal case of alleged misconduct in official discharge of duties by favouring the mother of the then Chief Secretary in allegedly owning two acres of government land by creating fake records.
Pointing out that in discharging their duties, the petitioner-accused persons had prima facie indulged in creation of document, processing the land records not in accordance with law and in violation of the government orders, rules and regulations, the court said that the disputed facts has to be decided in the trial.
Justice H.P. Sandesh passed the order while dismissing the petitions filed by Mr. Shankar, who retired in 2019, D.B. Gangaiah, surveyor, and K. Jayaprakash, joint director, both attached to the Department of Survey Settlement and Land Records.
The petitioners had challenged the complaint lodged in 2016 against them by one Bhaskaran, the chargesheet filed by the Lokayukta police and the sanction for their prosecution granted by the government in 2022.
It was alleged that the petitioners had helped Tarabai Maruthi Rao Jadhav, mother of Arvind Jadhav to own the government land situated at Ramanayakanahalli village, Sarjapura hobli, Anekal taluk, which was granted to a person by creating fake sale deed and get her name entered in the land records by violating the law.
‘History and classic example’
On perusing the records, the court said that “it is a classic example how podi (division of land) work was done without an application either by the mother of the then Chief Secretary or by the original grantee” but based on the application filed by the private secretary the then Chief Secretary.
“It is a history in the Revenue Department making the podi within a period of three months and it appears to be this is the one podi work which was done in the entire State within a span of three months…”, the court observed.
On the contention of the petitioners that the then Regional Commissioner, in his report to the government, had given clean chit to all the officials involved in processing the land records of Ms. Tarabai, the court said that the commissioner himself was working under the then Chief Secretary and hence the report cannot be treated as an impartial report.
Published – March 04, 2025 11:39 pm IST
