No concept of gated community; roads not exclusive to local residents says K'taka HC
Bengaluru (PTI): Landowners or developers of a layout will not have any right over roads and other services once they relinquish control over it to the civic bodies, the Karnataka High Court said, upholding a judgement of a single judge bench. The Upkar Residences had filed a petition before the single judge bench against Pabba Reddy Kodandarami Reddy of Sree Lakshmi Venkateshwara Towers, Outer Ring Road, Bellandur seeking right of ingress and egress of the public in the approved layout.
Reddy had contended that it was a gated community and the roads were meant for exclusive use of the residents.
The single judge bench in its order passed on November 29, 2022 held that there was no concept of gated community and Reddy cannot interdict the use of roads by the public.
Reddy had challenged this by way of an appeal which was heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit.
Dismissing the appeal, the division bench said, "We decline indulgence in the matter being broadly in agreement with the reasoning of the learned Single Judge that the roads in the layout concerned can be made use of both by the residents of the layout and others as well. This is consistent with condition No.11 incorporated by the competent authority while sanctioning the layout plan."
Condition 11 stipulates that the roads and public amenities are maintained by the civic authorities and allowed for use by all public.
The bench cited an earlier order of the HC in which the sanctity of condition 11 was upheld.
"In the absence of condition-11 subject to which the layout plan was approved, we would have appreciated the contention of the appellant that the roads in the subject layout were exclusively meant for its residents and therefore, outsiders cannot as a matter of right tread the same. However, that is not the case," it said.
The court, however, noted that even when Condition 11 is active, the residents can obtain special concessions to prevent the use of roads as a thoroughfare.
"It hardly needs to be stated that there is no impediment in law as it now obtains that for special reasons even with the stipulation of the condition-11 a specific concession can be obtained at the hands of the authorities that despite relinquishment of the roads and public amenity spaces, the said roads are not intended to be a thoroughfare and therefore, outsiders cannot as a matter of course can make use of the same," the bench said.
But once the roads are given up to the civic agencies, the original owners have no right over it, the HC said. "We need to clarify that once the relinquishment is done, the land owner or the developer of the layout will have no right whatsoever, which they had before relinquishment was done," the bench said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
