BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the Sadashivanagar Club to stop additional construction on its premises until further orders. The court also asked the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to file objections on how the construction in question were permitted under Section 14(1) of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961.
A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur passed an interim order to this effect after hearing public interest litigation filed by one Lakshmi Thammaiah and others.
The petitioners have questioned the approval given by the BDA for new constructions in the site at Upper Palace Orchards in Sadashivanagar. They claimed that the civic amenity site was given for limited use, and it was not permitted to construct commercial buildings, including restaurant, liquor bar and guest rooms among others.
The petitioners contended that the club was located on a civic amenity site which was given on lease by the BDA. The said site was classified as a park and open space in the revised master plan 2015. This apart, the revised master plan 2031 is still at the draft stage.
Therefore, the additional constructions are not permissible by law, they said. According to the petition, the new constructions on club premises are not permitted by law as the said site was shown as a park and open space in the revised master plan 2015.
Meanwhile, the counsel of the club argued that the petition was not maintainable as three petitioners of this PIL are relatives of the club members and two of them are wives of the sitting members. This fact was not disclosed in the petition. Then the court treated the PIL as suo moto and adjourned the hearing to December 2.