BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court issued notice to the state government on Friday in a public interest litigation challenging the alleged arbitrary division of Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency between Bengaluru East City Corporation and Bengaluru South City Corporation.
A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha passed the order after hearing the petition filed by Harish P S and Dilip Kumar R alleging that their constituency has been split between the two city corporations, which is arbitrary and a violation of Section 26(3) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024.
The petitioners, who are the voters of the Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency, contended that several villages, including Ambalipura, Harlur, Kaikondrahalli, Kasavanahalli, KPCL Layout, Junnasandra, and Doddakannalli, were unilaterally divided between South and East City Corporations by issuing a notification dated September 2, 2025, despite objections filed on August 14, 2025, on behalf of voters, residential welfare associations and other activists.
The petitioners stated that only a small portion has been placed under Bengaluru South City Corporation, while the larger portion remains within Bengaluru East City Corporation. Such classification results in administrative disintegration and jurisdictional overlap, creating ambiguity as to which zonal body is responsible for civic services, leading to duplication in some areas and neglect in others, they alleged.
They have also stated that the division gives rise to serious electoral complications. Splitting villages, wards, and portions of a single ward between two corporations undermines the accuracy of voter rolls, risks disenfranchising legitimate voters, and complicates the logistics of conducting free and fair elections.