In a significant development, top Karnataka bureaucrats have approached the Supreme Court seeking to halt contempt proceedings initiated against them in the Karnataka High Court. The contempt relates to a 2017 judgment which mandated the return of over 350 acres of land to the Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust, situated on Bengaluru’s outskirts.
The bench, led by Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna B Varale, responded to the petition filed by Karnataka Principal Secretary Manjunath Prasad and eight other officials. During the session, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the bureaucrats, asserted that despite the filing of a compliance affidavit by the state, the officials were still facing contempt charges.
The land in question, originally taken by state land authorities under the pretext of being “excess” under the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, was supposed to be returned following the high court’s decision. The high court had earlier quashed a Land Tribunal order that labeled 354 acres and 10 guntas of the trust’s land as excess, thereby restoring the possession to the trust.
Sibal highlighted the predicament of the state officials in the Supreme Court, stating, “These are top officials of the state government. We have filed the compliance affidavit and if contempt charges are framed, then what will remain of their reputations?” He further requested that the high court defer the hearing of the contempt case, given that the Supreme Court was now seized of the matter.
The trust, known for its alignment with Gandhian principles and established in 1942, had acquired the land to establish the Vishwaneedam International Sarvodaya Centre, which conducts various charitable activities. These include rural development, education, health initiatives, women empowerment, and Gandhian studies. Despite the 1974 amendments to the Land Reforms Act that imposed ceilings even on charitable institutions, the trust had taken precautionary steps by declaring its land with the Land Tribunal.
The high court’s ruling emphasized that the trust’s lands were not agricultural and thus not subject to the land ceiling provisions of the Land Reforms Act. It highlighted the trust’s commitment to Gandhian ideals and the significant historical contributions of its founders, Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinobha Bhave.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for two weeks from now, as the legal battle over this significant piece of land continues.
