The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Karnataka High Court order that had made Union Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy a party to ongoing contempt proceedings linked to alleged large-scale land encroachment in Kethaganahalli village near Bidadi, Karnataka.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale issued notice on Kumaraswamy’s plea challenging the High Court’s April 17 order, and sought a response from the petitioner NGO, Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan. However, the bench declined to issue notices to other parties, including the Karnataka government.
The contempt proceedings stem from allegations by the NGO that Kumaraswamy and his family illegally occupied government land in the village. The controversy traces back to a 2011 interlocutory report by the Karnataka Lokayukta, which flagged illegal land occupation and was later followed by the state government setting up a special investigation team that reportedly found prima facie evidence to support the claims.
In January 2020, the Karnataka High Court disposed of a writ petition based on a statement from the then Additional Advocate General that the state would comply with the Lokayukta’s 2014 order within three weeks. However, the Lokayukta later closed its proceedings on March 3, 2021, citing jurisdictional limitations.
Senior advocate C.A. Sundaram, appearing for Kumaraswamy, argued before the apex court that the contempt proceedings were erroneously based on an interim Lokayukta report which was never final and had been subsequently closed. He also contended that Kumaraswamy was not initially a party to the contempt case and had only approached the High Court following the Supreme Court’s earlier direction dated May 28, 2025, which granted him liberty to inform the High Court of his non-involvement.
Despite this, Sundaram stated, the High Court proceeded to add Kumaraswamy as a respondent in the contempt proceedings through its April 17 order—prompting the minister to challenge the move in the Supreme Court.
“In the meanwhile, the effect and operation of the impugned order dated April 17, 2025, will remain in abeyance,” the Supreme Court ordered, granting four weeks’ time for the NGO to respond to Kumaraswamy’s petition.
The case continues to raise significant questions about the scope of contempt proceedings based on interim administrative findings and the process of impleading individuals into ongoing judicial actions. The Supreme Court’s intervention offers temporary relief to the minister, even as the broader issue of illegal land encroachment in Karnataka remains under scrutiny.
