The Supreme Court on Thursday (May 29, 2025) froze the implementation of its May 22 order directing the State of Karnataka to release Transferable Development Rights (TDR) certificates of over ₹3,000 crore for 15 acres and 17.5 guntas of Bangalore Palace ground, acquired for widening the Ballari and Jayamahal roads, to the legal heirs of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family.
A Special Bench of three judges headed by Justice Surya Kant directed that the TDR certificates must continue to remain in the Supreme Court Registry.
When informed that the certificates had already been handed over to the claimants, the top court took the precaution of adding that TDRs, if any had been handed over, must not be transferred to third parties or utilised in any manner by the heirs.
The court ordered the review petition filed by the State against the May 22 order to be posted for hearing in the week commencing July 21.
“If the review petition is declined, the interim directions shall continue in force for four weeks from the date of passing such order,” the Bench directed.
It posted the main appeal in the Bangalore Palace grounds case for hearing on August 18.
On May 27, a Division Bench of Justices Kant and Dipankar Datta had referred the application made by the State of Karnataka against the May 22 order to the Chief Justice of India for the formation of a three-judge Bench to examine the issue.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate T. Harish Kumar, for the legal heirs, had called the application of the State a sheer abuse of the law.
But Mr. Sibal asked how TDRs worth ₹3,011.66 crore could be released for land measuring just over 15 acres when the main appeals challenging the acquisition of the larger extent of land measuring 472 acres under the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996 were still pending in the Supreme Court.
He had queried whether a direction could be passed to the State in parallel contempt proceedings to shell out nearly ₹3,011.66 crore worth of valuable TDRs for the land when the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996 had fixed an amount of Rs. 11 crore as compensation for the entire extent of 472 acres.
The senior lawyer had argued that the top court, in its May 22 order, had erred in applying a procedure for payment of compensation under Section 14B of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961.
The senior advocate had questioned if a provision introduced into the KTCP Act in 2004 could retrospectively be applied to set aside an acquisition dating back to 1996.
Published – May 29, 2025 09:52 pm IST
