BENGALURU: It is high time that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) implement a system of digitising all documents it issues such as khata, plan sanction, tax paid receipts etc. with a QR code to help citizens check the credentials of such documents, the Karnataka High Court has directed.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order while allowing a petition filed by dentist Sharmada B K while quashing the endorsement dated January 28, 2023, issued by the BBMP declining to issue fresh khata of her site in Kathriguppe based on a relinquished deed executed by her parents.
Noting that BBMP seems to have issued khata of the petitioner’s site for two different persons, the court stated that the BBMP should digitise all documents and provide a QR code so that citizens can check the credentials.
The petitioner had purchased a site in Kathriguppe in her name and her parents’ name in 2013. In 2021, the parents released their rights and hence the petitioner made an application to BBMP for a change of khata by deleting the parent’s names since she was now the site owner. But the BBMP rejected it on the ground that one D N Ramananda and his wife filed objections claiming they had purchased the site in 1999 for which the BBMP issued khata.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the site in question stood in the name of the petitioner. If needed the court could also verify by entering the PID (Property Identification) number of the site in the BBMP website, he argued.
Upon receiving instructions from the Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO), the BBMP counsel submitted that the petitioner’s application was rejected since there was an objection by Ramananda and his wife and thereafter khata was entered in their name, and the khata certificate and assessment extracts produced by the petitioner were fabricated and false, he argued.
The court checked with the BBMP property portal which showed the petitioner’s name and that of her parents. It also came to the notice of the court that no objections were filed by Ramananda and his wife as claimed by the BBMP.
Therefore, the court directed the BBMP Chief Commissioner to take action against the ARO for misleading both his counsel and the court. Also, the court directed the BBMP to consider the petitioner’s application and carry out necessary changes in the khata.