The High Court of Karnataka has quashed the acquisition of around seven acres of land for beautification and infrastructure improvement near protected monuments of Ugra Narasimha and Badavilinga temples at Hampi.
The court held that the action of the State government in acquiring the land by dispensing with Section 5A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which mandates hearing of objections, by invoking the urgency provision under Section 17 of the Act, was tainted with mala fides, and hence, the acquisition was illegal.
Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order while allowing the petitions filed by Nidasheshi Veeranna and others back in 2007 questioning the acquisition of land in various survey numbers of Krishnapur and Kamalapur villages in Hosapete taluk. The petitions were referred back to the High Court for fresh consideration after the first round of litigation, in which the High Court had refused to interfere with the acquisition notifications of 2005-06.
