Single Bench Judgment Overturned Just by Trusting BDA’s Affidavit: SC Cancels HC Division Bench Ruling.
The Supreme Court overturned the Karnataka High Court’s Division Bench decision that supported the Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) acquisition of the Appellant’s land for a development project. Previously, a Single Bench had canceled the acquisition order. Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran stated, “The Division Bench’s reliance on the authority’s affidavit and closing the case on the same day, without allowing the appellant to respond, violates natural justice principles. The well-reasoned decision of the Single Judge, which we have referenced, was reversed by the Division Bench based solely on the authority’s affidavit, without giving the appellant a chance to address the claims made in it.”
AOR Mahesh Thakur represented the Appellant, while Advocate Mayank Jain represented the Respondent. The Appellant’s father first contested the BDA’s acquisition through a Writ Petition. The Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court upheld the acquisition but permitted affected landowners to request exemptions under certain conditions. The Appellant sought exclusion, claiming that neighboring lands were exempted and that there were existing constructions on his land before the preliminary notification.
The Supreme Court observed that the Division Bench based its decision on an affidavit from the Special Land Acquisition Officer of the BDA, which stated that the land next to the Appellant’s property had already been acquired. The Court highlighted that although this affidavit was submitted on September 12, 2019, the Division Bench closed the hearing on the same day without allowing the Appellant to respond. The judgment was later issued on September 27, 2019. The Court noted that the well-reasoned conclusions of the Single Bench were overturned solely based on this affidavit, without giving the Appellant a chance to address the claims made. As a result, the Court concluded that the appeal should be granted on this basis alone. Therefore, the appeal is allowed, the previous judgment is annulled, and the case is sent back to the Division Bench of the High Court for a fresh review according to the law. Thus, the Supreme Court approved the appeal.
Cause Title: D.M. Jagadish v. Bangalore Development Authority & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2025 INSC 157)
Appearance:
Appellant: AOR Mahesh Thakur; Advocate Geetanjali Bedi
Respondent: Advocates Mayank Jain, Uditha Chakravarthy, Tarun, Raghavendra M. Kulkarni, Mythili S, Md. Apzal Ansari, Shiv Kumar, Vaishnavi, Ravichandra Jadhav, Dhanesh Ieshdhan, Prakash Jadhav and Venkata Raghu Mannepalli; AOR Ankur S. Kulkarni and V.N. Raghupathy
