Institute of Legal and Management Studies

A 2-Judge bench of the Supreme Court today placed before CJI BR Gavai Karnataka government's challenge to a direction for release of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) certificates related to Bangalore Palace Grounds acquisition in favor of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family's heirs.

For context, while dealing with a batch of contempt petitions on May 22, the Supreme Court had directed Karnataka government to release TDR certificates to the legal heirs of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family in respect of the acquisition of 15 acres of Bangalore Palace Grounds. Thereafter, the Karnataka government filed an application in a connected appeal against the release of TDR certificates.

Today, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta expressed a dilemma as to how it could sit in appeal over an order passed by a Coordinate bench on May 22. When Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal (for Karnataka) pointed out that the order was passed in a contempt matter, but the application is filed in a connected appeal, the bench suggested that appropriate orders be sought from the CJI (including, on the aspect of constitution of a larger bench).

Accordingly, the matter was ordered to be placed before the CJI on administrative side.

The origin of the dispute dates back to 1996 when the State passed the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act for acquisition of palace grounds in Bangalore. The High Court upheld the Act, against which appeal was filed by the royal family heirs in 1997, and the same has been pending in the Supreme Court since 1997.

Yesterday, the state government's application was mentioned by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal before a CJI BR Gavai-led bench, which agreed to list the matter today while wondering if another bench could sit in appeal over the order passed by the bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar on May 22.

Sibal argued that since TDR was allowed only as per an amendment passed in 2004, it could not be given retrospective effect. The Court has directed issuance of TDRs worth over Rs 3000 crores for about 15 acres of palace grounds acquired for the road-widening project, he said.

The claimants' counsel, on the other hand, claimed that the matter had become infructuous as the TDRs were already granted. However, CJI left the same to be considered today.

Case Title: SRI SRIKANTA D N WADIYAR (D) BY LR. Versus STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ORS., C.A. No. 3303/1997