Contempt petition on cards against members of Mysore Royal Family for ‘unauthorised structures’
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet has decided to file an Interim Application (IA) before the Supreme Court, seeking an urgent hearing on the validity of the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996, which vested the Bangalore Palace with the State Government.
Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting in Bengaluru last evening, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil stated, “We have already filed an IA seeking hearings on the Government’s appeals regarding the 1996 Act.”
The Cabinet has also decided to file a contempt petition against members of the erstwhile Mysore Royal Family for constructing unauthorised structures on the Bangalore Palace premises, violating the Supreme Court’s 2001 order to maintain the status quo in the case.
Notices dated Jan. 9, 2025, have been issued to vacate the illegal structures within 15 days. Additionally, the Government has decided not to permit any programmes on the Palace Grounds.
The State Government notified the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996, which came into effect on Nov. 21, 1996, vesting ownership of all movable and immovable properties of the Bangalore Palace with the Government. However, the legal heirs have contested the Act in the Supreme Court and litigation over the ownership of the entire 472-acre Palace Grounds is ongoing.
TDR issue
On Dec. 10, 2024, the Supreme Court directed the State Government and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to issue Transferable Development Rights (TDR) to Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar’s legal heir for land at Bengaluru Palace Grounds, which was to be acquired for the widening of Ballari and Jayamahal Roads.
Minister Patil recalled that the Government’s appeal, citing the “financial strain” of Rs. 3,011 crore in providing TDR at Rs. 2,83,500 per square metre (Ballari Road) and Rs. 2,04,000 per square metre (Jayamahal Road), had been rejected by the Supreme Court.
He noted that the Cabinet had discussed the Supreme Court’s judgment on TDR rates for the use of 15 acres and 17.5 guntas of Palace Grounds land and the concerned Department has been directed to take appropriate steps as per the Law.
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