IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 5TH DAY OF APRIL 2019 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE S.N.SATYANARAYANA WRIT PETITION NO.2372/2019 (KLR-RES) BETWEEN SMT PREMA VENKATESH W/O N C VENKATESH ELLODU VILLAGE KASABA HOBLI GUDIBANDE TALUK CHICKBALLAPUR DISTRICT-562101 ... PETITIONER (BY SRI KALEEMULLAH SHARIFF, ADVOCATE) AND 1. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, CHICKABALLAPURA DISTRICT, CHICKABALLAPURA-562101.
2. THE TAHSILDAR, CHICKABALLAPURA DISTRICT, CHICKABALLAPURA-562101.
3. THE COMMISSIONER, FOR SURVEY SETTLEMENT, AND LAND RECORDS, K.R. CIRCLE, BENGALURU-560001. ... RESPONDENTS (BY SRI VENKATESH DODDERI, AGA) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO DIRECT THE RESPONDENTS TO CONSIDER THE REPRESENTATIONS DATED 13.7.2015, 6.3.2017 AND 19.11.2018 PRODUCED AT ANNEXURES-H, H1, AND H2 RESPECTIVELY BY ISSUING A WRIT OF MANDAMUS THIS WRIT PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN ‘B’ GROUP THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER Petitioner herein is seeking mandamus to respondents 1 to 3, namely Deputy Commissioner of Chickaballapura, Tahsildar of Chickaballapura and Commissioner for Survey Settlement and Land Records, Bengaluru, for surveying, phodi and fixing Huddubust in respect of land bearing Sy.No.28/P1 of Yellodu village, Kasaba Hobli, Gudibande Taluk Chickaballapura District, measuring to an extent of 3 acres 20 guntas of land.
2. According to petitioner, she is the grantee of land in question under Darkasth. Thereafter, saguvali chit was issued on 5.3.1987 vide Annexure-A. Subsequently, the said extent of land was mutated in her name in Record of Rights as per Mutation Extract vide Annexure-B, same is recorded in RTC vide Annexures-C and C1, she had also exercised right of ownership by paying tax vide Annexures-D and D1 and thereafter, she gave representations seeking phodi work vide Annexures-H, H1 and H2, which are dated 13.7.2015, 6.3.2017 and 19.11.2018. It is stated that based on first of the applications, the Tahsildar Gudibande Taluk addressed a letter to the Range Forest Officer of Gudibandbe Taluk in calling upon his objections, if any, to consider the petitioner’s application and Office Note was also prepared to consider necessary survey work of the land in question. Since there was delay in conducting survey work, the petitioner has approached this Court seeking direction to the authorities to consider her representations vide Annexures- H, H1 and H2 and complete phodi and durasth work. Probably this is the first mistake that the petitioner has committed in approaching this Court seeking such direction.
3. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Government Advocate for respondents. Perused the material available on record.
4. The Grant Certificate relied on by the petitioner in support of her case that she is the grantee of land in question, which is at Annexure-A would indicate that the Form in which grant particulars are filled and issued to the petitioner on 5.3.1987 was incidentally printed on 8.3.1988, thereby clearly disclosing that the entire claim, which is based on saguvali chit in From No.1 is nothing but a concocted and fabricated document on which the petitioner has managed to create a ground that the aforesaid extent of land was granted in her favour, based on said fake saguvali chit got aforesaid land mutated in her name in the revenue records, thereafter, got the RTC prepared and also paid tax in respect of said land. In fact, she got everything else prepared in her name to the point of perfection except getting phodi work done.
5. In the meanwhile, when Annexures-E, F and G, the letter by Tahsildar to Forest Department to furnish objections, if any; the Office Note and the copy of representation by the petitioner for conducting durasti work respectively, are looked into, the same would indicate that the authorities believing the said documents have also prepared the Stage for conducting phodi work and providing separate sub-number to the land in question, which was claimed as the land granted in petitioner’s favour. However, all these are now proved to be futile exercise after noticing that the Grant Certificate itself is fake. In that view of the matter, this writ petition is required to be dismissed. While doing so, the petitioner is required to be imposed with heavy cost for committing such serious crime in creating fraudulent document/s to knock off the valuable Government land.
6. Accordingly, this writ petition is dismissed with cost of Rs.1,00,000/- payable to the State Treasury within three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, failing which the same shall be recovered as if it is the land revenue. It is made clear that payment of cost of Rs.1,00,000/- is not the only punishment which is required to be imposed. Considering the nature of the offence committed, criminal prosecution provided under the Indian Penal Code for fabrication of documents and staking false claim to Government Land should also be initiated.
7. Since the aforesaid criminal offence committed by the petitioner appears to be with the assistance of menfolk in the family, the investigating agency shall after investigation initiate prosecution against the petitioner and/or any other menfolk in the family who are actively involved in the process of fabrication and creation of fake records. The same shall be done within 90 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order.
8. It is needless to add that the respondent authorities shall forthwith take possession of aforesaid land and shall ensure that the entire revenue records are corrected in showing that the land in question is Government land. The compliance of that shall be placed before this Court within 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
9. The learned Additional Government Advocate shall communicate this order to all the respondent authorities and also to the Principal Secretary, Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka for compliance.
Sd/- JUDGE nd/-