Court strictures against Krishna

Court strictures against Krishna
Deccan Herald

The Karnataka High Court on Friday passed strictures against former Chief Minister S M Krishna for illegally permitting the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to form Arkavathi layout without obtaining approval from the State Cabinet.

While quashing notifications issued by the BDA acquiring land for the layout, Justice V Gopala Gowda observed that the former Chief Minister (without naming him) on February 12, 2004, in a hurried manner had allowed the BDA to publish final notification pending Cabinet approval.

Following this, the BDA on February 22, 2004 had published the final notification.

Pointing out that the government had failed to justify the hurried decision taken by the former Chief Minister, the court held that Mr Krishna’s action was impermissible in law.

“This is the way in which the power, conferred upon the responsible government on the trustee, is being misused by none other than the then Chief Minister who was the trustee of the citizens who brought him to power”, the court observed describing Mr Krishna’s action as “clear case of legal mala fide and legal malice.” “It appears that former Chief Minister was eager to go ahead with the project giving a go-bye to all cannons of law. He has taken such action in anticipation of the cabinet approval. It means that he (Mr Krishna) had taken for granted that the cabinet was not required to apply its mind to the facts of the case, statutory provisions and that the cabinet would simply ratify his action as an empty formality”, the judge observed.

The court also assumed that Mr Krishna had taken such a decision as elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assembly were contemplated during that period and described the decision a as “colourable exercise of power”.