- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 25TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2025 PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH AND THE HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE TARA VITASTA GANJU WRIT APPEAL NO. 62 OF 2025 (BDA) BETWEEN: 1. SMT RAJAREGAM FERNANDO W/O LATE G KULANDAI SWAMY AGED ABOUT 75 YEARS R/AT NO. 412 4TH MAIN 5TH AVENUE TEACHERS COLONY KORAMANGALA, BANGALORE-560 034. …APPELLANT (BY SMT. THANUJA M V., ADVOCATE) AND: 1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA REPTD. BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT MULTISTORIED BUILDING DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR ROAD BENGALURU 560 001. 2. THE COMMISSIONER BENGALURU DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY KUMARA PARK WEST EXTENSION SANKEY ROAD BENGALURU 560 020. 3. THE ADDITIONAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER BENGALURU DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY KUMARA PARK WEST EXTENSION Digitally signed by VASANTHA KUMARY B K Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 SANKEY ROAD, BENGALURU 560 020. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. MOHAMMED JAFFAR SHAH, AGA FOR R1; SRI. B VACHAN, ADVOCATE FOR R2 & R3) THIS WRIT APPEAL IS FILED U/S 4 OF THE KARNATAKA HIGH COURT ACT PRAYING TO ALLOW THE WRIT APPEAL AND SET ASIDE THE ORDER PASSED BY THE LEARNED SINGLE JUDGE IN WP No.42519/2019 (BDA), DATED 04.12.2024 AND ETC., THIS APPEAL, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, JUDGMENT WAS DELIVERED THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH and HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE TARA VITASTA GANJU ORAL JUDGMENT (PER: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D K SINGH) The present writ appeal has been filed impugning the judgment and order dated 04.12.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.No.42519/2019(BDA) preferred by the petitioner. 2. Parties are referred to as per their ranking in the writ petition, for the sake of convenience. 3. The husband of the petitioner, late G Kulandai Swamy had purchased the revenue site (old) Nos.7 and 8, - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 House List No.92/7/8 situated at Sonnenahalli Village, Soolikere Panchayat, Kengeri Hobli, Bengaluru South Taluk measuring East to West East Northern side 62 feet, Southern side 60 feet and North to South 40 feet with half Mangalore tiled house under registered Sale Deed dated 31.01.1996. The Bangalore Development Authority (for short 'the BDA') had issued public notice for acquisition of the large chunk of land including the site of the husband of the petitioner for the purpose of extension of Sir M. Visweswaraiah Layout. 4. The late husband of the petitioner had filed objection to the proposed acquisition of his site on 28.03.2002. When the matter was thus pending, the late husband of the petitioner died on 01.06.2003. 5. The petitioner after the death of her husband had made several applications for allotment of an alternate site in Sir.M.Visweswaraiah Layout in lieu of the acquisition of the revenue site of her husband. - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 6. The respondent authority has issued an endorsement on 08.07.2016 and thereafter, a letter dated 26.04.2018 was issued by the respondent No.1, denying allotment of alternate site to the petitioner in lieu of the acquisition of her revenue site. 7. The ground for denying the claim of the petitioner for alternative revenue site is that the application filed by the petitioner was not in the prescribed format, inasmuch as two declarations i.e. the petitioner/her husband were domicile of State of Karnataka for more than last 15 years and the petitioner or any of the dependent has not been allotted a site by any Urban Development Authority in Bangalore or any other part of the State or does not own a site allotted by a Co-operative Society. 8. 8. It is not in dispute that other persons, whose sites were acquired for extension of Sir.M.Visweswaraiah Layout have been allotted alternate sites in the said layout itself, as the authority had found that their applications were in - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 accordance with the relevant Rules. However, the petitioner has been denied the allotment of the site on the ground that the application was not submitted in the prescribed format. 9. It is not denied by the learned counsel for the respondent authority, that the authority never intimated to the petitioner that her application was not in requisite format. Had the authority informed the petitioner that her application was not in the requisite format as per the rules, the petitioner would have corrected the application. 10. The next submission advanced by the learned counsel for the respondent is that there are no sites available in Sir M.Visweswaraiah Layout. On the last date of posting i.e., on 14.11.2025, we passed the following order:- "Learned counsel for respondent Nos.2 and 3 has not filed a response to the order dated 04.11.2025 passed by this Court in the present appeal. - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 As a last opportunity, we are granting ten days time to the 3rd respondent to file his response on his personal affidavit to the order dated 04.11.2025 which reads as under :- " Sri B. Vachan, learned counsel appearing for the respondent Nos.2 and 3 is requested to seek instructions on whether any site is available within Sir M Visweswaraiah layout or any other layout which has been carved out subsequently for allotment to the petitioner inasmuch as her husband had moved the application way back in the year 2004 though may not be in prescribed form. It is also the case of the appellant that other land owners whose land got acquired have been allotted sites in pursuance to the direction issued by this Court and only she has been left out on the ground that she did not file the application in prescribed form within a period of 90 days from the judgment of this Court. Post this appeal on 14.11.2025." If the personal affidavit of the 3rd respondent is not filed in compliance of the order dated 04.11.2025, the Land Acquisition Officer/Additional Land Acquisition Officer of BDA shall remain present - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 personally before the Court, on the next day of positing. Post this appeal on 25.11.2025." 11. In compliance of the order dated 04.11.2025 Mr. Vachan, learned counsel for the respondent, has filed the affidavit of Mr. Umesh J, Additional Land Acquisition Officer. In the said affidavit, it has been stated in paragraph 7 as follows :- "7. In compliance of the Order dated 14.11.2025, I state that there are sites available for allotment in Nada Prabhu Kempegowda layout. However, the said allotment can only be done as per the provisions of the Bangalore Development Authority Act, 1976 and its rules and the in light of the directions issued by this Hon'ble Court in the case of Junjamma and Others versus The Bangalore Development Authorit. Therefore, the BDA has no discretion to extend the time limit or go beyond the directions issued by this Hon'ble Court in the aforementioned case in considering the applications seeking allotment of an alternative site." 12. We have considered the submissions of learned counsel for the parties. - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 13. The sites have been allotted as per the judgment of this Court in JUNJAMMA AND OTHERS VS. BANGALORE DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (ILR 2005 KAR 608). In the said judgment the following directions were issued :- "a)………..XXXXXXXXXXXX………………XXXXXXXXX………. b) These petitioners shall register themselves as applicants for allotment under the Bangalore Development Authority [Allotment of sites] Rules, 1984, within a period of two months from today (extendable by another one month by BDA, if sufficient cause is shown). Petitioners will have to pay only the registration fee. They need not pay initial deposit as their sites have been acquired and they are not entitled to receive compensation in regard to the sites under this arrangement. (c) The petitioners shall file applications for allotment of sites to BDA within three months from today, in the prescribed form stating that they are applicants who were the petitioners in these Writ Petitions. Petitioners shall file their documents with BDA along with the application to verify the same. (d) BDA will treat them as applicants entitled to priority in allotment and allot each of them a site - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 measuring 30'x40' in Sir M. Visweswaraiah Layout or in any other nearby layouts in Bangalore at the prevailing allotment prices subject to petitioners satisfying the twin requirements for allotment under the BDA (allotment of sites) Rules, 1984, that they must be the residents of Bangalore (ten years domicile) and should not be owning any residential property in Bangalore. (e) If there are no rival claimants for compensation in regard to the plots claimed by petitioners, and if the ownership of the petitioners in regard to their respective sites which have been acquired is not disputed, BDA shall calculate the compensation payable to the petitioners and give credit to the same by adjusting the same towards the allotment price for the site to be allotted and call upon the petitioners to pay the balance. Petitioners shall be given six months time for making payment [to enable petitioners to know the amount of compensation which they will be entitled and to ascertain how much balance they should pay]. (f) If there are rival claimants in regard to the survey umbers or the sites or if any petitioners title in regard to the sites are challenged, BDA shall make a reference in regard to the compensation in regard to such site/land in question, to the Civil Court under - 10 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 Section 30 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the petitioners will have to sort out the matter before the reference Court. In that event, such petitioners will have to pay the full allotment price within the time stipulated, without seeking adjustment of compensation for the acquired site.: (g) If any of the petitioners does not fulfil the requirements for allotment, under the allotment Rules, their cases may be considered for allotment of 20'x30' sites as per the Rules containing incentive scheme for voluntary surrender of Land. For the purpose of the said scheme, such petitioners will be deemed to have voluntarily surrendered the sites." 14. The facts are not in dispute that the site of the petitioner's husband was acquired and she was entitled for allotment of an alternate site. Even as per the directions issued by the learned Single Judge in the judgment in JUNJAMMA'S case cited supra, the petitioner has not been allotted a site only on the ground that her application was not in the prescribed form. When the petitioner was not intimated about the fact that her application was not in the prescribed form, the stand taken by the respondent that - 11 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 her application was not liable to be entertained, is completely untenable and therefore, such a stand has to be rejected. If the petitioner would have been intimated about the defect in the application, she might have corrected the defect and filed an application in the prescribed form as per requirements of the Rules. Anyway, the two requirements that the person should be domicile of Karnataka for more than 15 years and that the person should not own a site allotted by an Urban Development Authority or by any Co-operative Society should be stated in an affidavit to be filed by the petitioner. 15. Therefore, we allow this writ appeal and direct the BDA to allot a site to the petitioner as directed by the learned Single Judge in the judgment and order in JUNJAMMA'S case cited supra. The allotment is subject to the petitioner filing a fresh application in Form 2B of Rule 9 of the Bangalore Development Authority (Allotment Rules) 1984, within a period of 10 days from the date of - 12 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:48719-DB WA No. 62 of 2025 receipt of a copy of this order. Thereafter, the BDA should allot a site in 'Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout' within a period of one month from the date all formalities in the application are finalised. Sd/- (D K SINGH) JUDGE Sd/- (TARA VITASTA GANJU) JUDGE NG List No.: 1 Sl No.: 13 cor.m