The Supreme Court on Monday, October 26, set aside the acquisition of privately owned land in Bengaluru for a cooperative housing society, after finding that private players had lured the State government into approving the extent of land and that there was no approved housing scheme or layout plan before the acquisition took place, LiveLaw reported.

Source: LiveLaw

A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran directed that possession of the acquired land be restored to the respective landowners, irrespective of whether they had challenged the acquisition. Landowners must refund any compensation received from the government, without interest, but need not refund amounts received in private transactions.

Source: LawTrend

"What is required is not just an approval of the extent and the mere expression of a laudable housing scheme, but housing sites demarcated for allotment to landless members with the detailed descriptive lay-out plan laid before the Government. We find no such scheme having been laid out before the Government," the bench observed, emphasising that the power of eminent domain can be exercised only with authority of law and for a public purpose.

The Court enhanced the costs payable to each petitioner to Rs 50,000, deleted the direction to initiate contempt proceedings against government officers in view of the passage of time, and held that the society shall have no claim over the lands. Land not taken back by owners is to be auctioned by the revenue authorities under the supervision of a judicial officer not below the rank of District Judge (Selection Grade), with the proceeds going towards victim compensation, LawTrend reported.

The case, N. Arasappa v. State of Karnataka & Ors., Civil Appeal Nos. 13744-13747 of 2015 with connected appeals, arose from land in Nelakadiranahalli village, Bengaluru, acquired in favour of a housing cooperative society amid allegations of fraud, middlemen and bribery, according to the reports. The allegations were examined by the Court in the acquisition proceedings; this report follows the Court's findings as reported by LiveLaw and LawTrend.