The Karnataka High court has refused to quash an FIR filed against residents in the Shilpitha Splendour Annex Apartment complex in Mahadevapura after they obstructed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials from clearing an encroachment on a stormwater drain and fencing the area recovered.
“The photographs and video clippings reveals the incident occurred for having prevented the officials of BBMP by the petitioners. There is prima facie material to show that there is cognizable offence made out for conducting investigation. Therefore, the petition is devoid of merits and is liable to be dismissed [sic],” the order said.
This comes in the wake of BBMP spearheading the demolition of encroachments across the city following the flooding that occurred earlier this year.
In March 2020, a team of BBMP officials along with police visited the area to remove the encroachment and fence the portion of land as per the high court order of January 2020.
“But the petitioners who are staying in Shilpitha Splendour Annex (hereinafter referred to as ‘Apartment’) said to be illegally gathered and prevented the public servant while discharging duty and executing the order of the High Court,” the order passed by a single-judge bench of Justice K Natarajan mentioned.
The homebuyers claimed that the BBMP officials have already removed the encroachment and surveyed the land and once again, there was nothing to survey.
The homebuyers had claimed before the court that they went on a peaceful strike and have not agitated against the police or BBMP officials. “They are the residents of the said apartment and, therefore, there is no unlawful assembly and there is no obstruction,” the homebuyers argued before court in defence.
However, the court order noted, “The petitioners, being the owners of the apartment, must be in the apartment, but they altogether joined their hands intending to prevent the public authority while discharging duty, which attracts Section 149 of IPC.”
Section 149 is provided in Chapter VIII of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which describes all the offences against public tranquillity.
The police are at liberty to proceed with an investigation and file a charge sheet, the order added.
BBMP asks residents to cooperate, to continue demolition drive
BBMP Chief Engineer M Lokesh said after the survey has been done by the officials, the tehsildar will serve a notice to the apartment owners for demolition. “The notice gives the homebuyers three days to vacate the premises,” he added.
BBMP said the department has removed more than 2,000 encroachments in Bengaluru and is currently looking at more demolitions in the KR Puram and Mahadevpura areas.
In October, a status report submitted before a division bench headed by acting chief justice Alok Aradhe noted that the department had removed 2,052 encroachments and 504 were yet to be demolished.
Last month, a Karnataka High Court bench of Aradhe and justice Vishwajith Shetty said, “The city of Bengaluru has faced unprecedented floods and parts of the city were inundated with rainwater. The aforesaid situation has arisen as the BBMP has failed to perform its statutory duties of removal of encroachments.”
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