Bengaluru/Mysuru: Following a directive from the Karnataka High Court (HC), the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has reclaimed a Medium Income Group (MIG) house that was being illegally occupied by a man for the past 21 years.

The house was built by MUDA for economically weaker sections at Bogadi Layout (No. 1) and it was occupied by G.M. Mahadeva. The High Court passed the eviction order on Nov. 9 while hearing a Writ Petition (8137/2021) and also imposed a fine of Rs. 6 lakh on him for squatting on public property.

The payment has to be made within six weeks at the rate of Rs. 30,000 per year though the rental value of the house is Rs. 7,500 per month. The Court was informed that of the 12,145 houses constructed by MUDA, 208 were under illegal occupation.

The Court also ordered the Government and MUDA to initiate legal proceedings against Mahadeva who interestingly is the petitioner in this case and had prayed the Court for legal allotment of the said property. “This is a classic case of abuse of process of the Court and misuse of law as an instrument of fraud and harassment by the writ petitioner,” the Court said.

Armed with the Court order, MUDA evicted the occupant from the house yesterday and has taken the property into its possession. The present market value of the house is estimated to be Rs. 75 lakh. While reclaiming the house, MUDA Assistant Executive Engineer Kiran, Assistant Engineer Lohit and staff were present.

Delivering the eviction orders, Justice Krishna S. Dixit observed that no allotment of land can be claimed by a person who gains entry into public property by hooliganism and continues to occupy it on the mere ground that he belongs to an oppressed class.

Relying on verbal assurance

Mahadeva claimed that he occupied the house as per the verbal assurance given by engineers in 2000 and challenged the Jan. 25, 2021 endorsement issued by MUDA that all vacant houses will be auctioned as per rules. The Court noted that no material particulars were forthcoming with regard to the assurance given by engineers.

“Going by the records, the petitioner — claiming to be a member of the oppressed class and as a journalist — has harassed high-ranking officials by dragging them to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Karnataka State Human Rights Commission and Karnataka SC/ST Commission. The Commissions have strangely been lenient and indulgent to the petitioner though he made an unjustifiable claim,” the Court observed.

“As the petitioner has contested for the State Assembly Election from Chamundeshwari Constituency, he is not naïve to the public life and public morality, to justify his seeking protection at the hands of SC/ST Commission or this Court. In fact, such persons spoil the social image of oppressed classes; the happenings of such things should be oppressed by the iron hand of the Court,” Justice Krishna Dixit observed.

“The petitioner claims to be the State President of the Association of Small and Medium Newspapers of India. He also claims to be the editor and publisher of ‘Rashtrakraanthi’ newspaper. Strangely, the registered office of the Association is shown to be in the subject house. These things can happen only in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and this is a fit case for imposing exemplary and penal costs,” the Court observed.