BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday warned that it may pass appropriate orders, including imposing heavy costs, against organisations and individuals if the action-taken report to be submitted by the BBMP indicates that they put up hoardings and banners in violation of the court’s orders.
Noting that the directions issued on August 2, 2023, are still in force, a division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit passed the order after hearing public interest litigations filed by Mayige Gowda and others from 2017 onwards.
“We direct that on the next date, the BBMP has to submit the action-taken report pursuant to the earlier order and also on the memo to be filed by counsel G R Mohan, stating as to whether any prior permission is sought for installing those hoardings and banners.
If installed without permission, what action has been taken, including reporting the matter to police officers, and if no action is taken, what action the BBMP is proposing to take against erring officers? If the report indicated banners and hoardings are installed without permission, this court may pass appropriate orders against all the bodies or persons who have erected them, including the imposition of heavy cost on them,” the court noted.
The court also made it clear that the direction issued on August 2, 2023, will continue. The court had passed an order that if the BBMP reports to the court that the hoardings and other advertisement materials were erected illegally, then cost of Rs 1 lakh for each hoarding should be deposited to the court. Of the Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 is to be deposited by the BBMP and the rest by the state government.
Meanwhile, the counsels of the petitioners submitted that unauthorised hoardings have increased despite directions issued by the court. The court said a blanket direction may not be appropriate in the absence of specific material in support of the allegations.