The High Court of Karnataka has permitted the conduct of investigation against K.Y. Nanje Gowda, MLA from Malur constituency, in a criminal case registered for allegedly granting around 80 acres of government land worth several crores of rupees to ineligible persons, including the dead, in his capacity as chairperson of Malur taluk Land Grant Committee in 2019.

“It is a classic case where the power entrusted to the representatives of the public is prima facie misused, as the government lands have been granted to the persons who could not be granted,” the High Court said, while also vacating the stay granted in November 2022 against the investigation.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by Mr. Nanje Gowda of the Congress and three others, who were the members of the committee.

Order questioned

The petitioners had questioned the October 15, 2022, order of the Special Court of Magistrate for dealing with criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, which had directed the Malur police to register an FIR against the MLA and three others based on a private complaint registered by one K.C. Rajanna, a Kolar-based social worker.

Mr. Rajanna had lodged the complaint before the special court after the Malur police in August 2022 had declined to register the FIR against the MLA and others on the ground another FIR was already registered against the then tahsildar V. Nagaraj in December 2019 on alleged illegal grant of government lands based on a complaint filed by the incumbent tahsildar.

The petitioners had said that the FIR registered against them was illegal as it amounts to registration of second FIR on the issue of illegal grant of lands.

Rejecting their contention, the High Court said that the petitioners were neither accused in the first FIR nor the allegations levelled in the complaint lodged against them in 2022 were the same as in the FIR registered only against the then tahsildar.

‘Ghost grants’

Referring to some instances of grant of lands to ineligible persons as alleged in the complaint, the High Court noted that there were two ‘ghost grants’ as 1.39 acre of land was granted in July 2019 to one Narayanappa, who had died in 2004. And another parcel of land was granted to one Anandeesh Gowda on the ground that he was cultivating the land for the last 50 years though his actual age was 40 at the time of grant, which means that he started cultivating land before his birth.

“Prima facie, the government land has been bartered away by the chairman and members of the committee and the office was treated as their personal fiefdom, which resulted in loot of government land,” the High Court observed.