IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 12TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2023
BEFORE
THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE E.S. INDIRESH
WRIT PETITION NO.4871 OF 2022 ( KLR-RR/SUR)
BETWEEN:
M/S. SOUTH INDIA WATCH COMPANY PVT. LTD.
A PRIVATE LTD. COMPANY, HAVING ITS OFFICE AT:
NO.39, KRISHNAREDDY LAYOUT,
DOMMALURU,
BENGALURU - 560 071.
REP. BY ITS DIRECTOR
MR. RAJKUMAR HARLALKA.
...PETITIONER
(BY SRI. VENKATESH R. BHAGAT, ADVOCATE)
AND:
1. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
BENGALURU NORTH SUB-DIVISION,
BENGALURU - 577 201.
2. THE TAHASILDAR
BENGALURU EAST TALUK
K.R. PURAM,
BENGALURU - 560 036.
3. SMT. LAKSHMIDEVI
D/O LATE C.L. RAMASWAMY
W/O LATE SRINIVAS
AGED ABOUT 68 YEARS,
R/AT NO.68, MARIYAMMA TEMPLE ROAD,
BANASAWADI,
BENGALURU - 560 043.
4. SRI. R. VINOD KUMAR
S/O LATE M. RAMASWAMY
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AGED ABOUT: MAJOR,
R/AT: NO.20, 1ST FLOOR,
ASHIN APARTMENT,
INNER CIRCLE, WHITEFIELD,
BENGALURU - 560 066.
5. THE REVENUE INSPECTOR
K.R. PURAM-3 HOBLI,
BENGALURU EAST TALUK,
BENGALURU - 560 036.
6. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
BENGALURU URBAN DISTRICT,
BENGALURU - 560 001.
7. SRI. G. SHANKAR
S/O G. GURUSWAMY
AGED ABOUT 42 YEARS
R/AT NO.675, MANJUNATHA LAYOUT,
T.C. PALYA,
BENGALURU - 36.
….RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. MOHAMMED JAFFAR SHAH, AGA FOR R1 R2,
R5 & R6;
SRI. V. ANAND, ADVOCATE FOR R3;
SRI. S.N. ASHWATHNARAYAN, SENIOR ADVOCATE FOR
SRI. S.A. SUDHINDRA, ADVOCATE FOR R7;
RESPONDENT NO.4 -DELETED V/O DATED 11.10.2022)
THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226
AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO
QUASH THE ORDER DATED 15TH FEBRUARY, 2022 PASSED
BY THE RESPONDENT NO.6-DEPUTY COMMISSIONER IN
REVISION PETITION NO.194/2019 VIDE ANNEXURE-A,
CONFIMRING THE ORDER DATED 07TH MARCH, 2019
PASSED BY THE RESPONDENT NO.1-ASSISTANT
COMMISSIONER VIDE ANNEXURE-B AND CONSEQUENTLY
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QUASH THE MUTATION ENTRY IN THE NAME OF THE
RESPONDENT NO.3 VIDE ANNEXURE-W; AND ETC.
IN THIS WRIT PETITION, ARGUMENTS BEING HEARD,
RESERVED FOR ORDERS, COMING ON FOR
"PRONOUNCEMENT OF ORDERS", THIS DAY, THE COURT
MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER
In this writ petition, the petitioner-Company is assailing
order dated 15th February, 2022 (Annexure-A) passed in
Revision Petition No.194/2019 by the respondent No.6-
Deputy Commissioner and order dated 07th March, 2019
(Annexure-B) passed in R.A.(BE):108/2017-18 by the
respondent No.1-Assistant Commissioner' wherein the claim
made by the petitioner was dismissed.
2. The factual aspects on record in brief as
contended by the petitioner are that the petitioner is the
owner in possession of land bearing old Survey No.37, new
Survey No.141/1 now having Survey No.141/1B situate at
Pattandur Agrahara Village, Bengaluru East Taluk. It is
stated that the petitioner had purchased the land in
question as per four registered Sale Deeds dated 10th
October, 2003 from their vendors M/s Birdy Holdings Pvt.
Ltd. and also from the children of Smt. Sita Ramaswamy.
It is further stated in the writ petition that the said vendor-
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M/s Birdy Holdings Pvt. Ltd. had purchased the property
from one Smt. Sita Ramaswamy as per registered Sale
Deed dated 18th May, 1994 (Annexure-E). It is also
averred in the petition that, Smt. Sita Ramaswamy W/o
C.L. Ramaswamy was the owner in possession of the land
bearing old Survey No.37 (new Survey No.141/4) of
Pattandur Agrahara Village, Bengaluru East Taluk and has
formed private Layout in the schedule property.
Thereafter, the land in question has fallen within the limits
of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. It is further stated
in the writ petition that the respondent No.3 herein claims
to be the daughter of said Smt. Sita Ramaswamy, in
collusion with the respondent No.4 have fabricated the
Death Certificate (Annexure-J) of Smt. Sita Ramaswamy
and got mutation in their favour as M.R. No.H-21/2016-17.
It is the further case of the petitioner that, though there is
no agricultural land available to continue in the revenue
entries, the respondent No.3 in collusion with the
respondent No.4 have created the revenue documents. It
is further averred in the writ petition that the said Smt. Sita
Ramaswamy is having five children namely, Mr. C.R. Vijaya
Raghavan, Mrs. C.R. Satyabhama, Mrs. Sarasa
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Sheshanarayan, Mrs. Sumitra Goutham and Dr. Suchitra
Mahadeva and respondent No.3 herein is not the daughter
of late Sita Ramaswamy. The respondent No.3 herein has
fabricated the documents fictitiously representing as the
daughter of late Sita Ramaswamy, filed affidavit as per
Annexure-X (Family Tree) and got the mutation entry in her
name. In this regard, criminal case has been lodged
against respondents 3 and 4 in Crime No.8 of 2020 for the
offences punishable under Sections 120B, 417, 419, 468,
471, 420, 193 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal
Code on the file of the Seshadripuram Police Station and
charge-sheet is filed before the competent Court as per
Annexure-AB. The respondent No.3 herein making use of
the mutation entry, sold the property in favour of the
respondent No.7-G. Shankar as per registered Sale Deed
dated 17th July, 2019 (Annexure-AE). It is the case of the
petitioner that the Sale Deed executed by the respondent
No.3 in favour of the respondent No.7 is fraudulent act and
said aspect has not been considered by the respondents 1
and 6 while passing the impugned orders and as such,
presented this writ petition, challenging the orders passed
at Annexures 'A' and 'B'.
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3. Heard Sri. Venkatesh R. Bhagat, learned counsel
appearing for the petitioner and Sri. Mohammed Jaffar
Shah, learned Additional Government Advocate appearing
for respondents 1, 2, 5 and 6; Sri. V. Anand, leaned
counsel appearing for respondent No.3; and Sri. S.N.
Ashwathnarayan, learned Senior Counsel on behalf of Sri.
S.A. Sudhindra, appearing for the respondent No.7.
4. Sri. Venkatesh R. Bhagat, learned counsel
appearing for the petitioner contended that, respondents 1
and 6 have not considered the said fact that the respondent
No.3 was not the owner in possession of land and
respondent No.3 is not the daughter of the said Smt. Sita
Ramaswamy, and therefore, the entire transaction made by
the respondent No.3 in favour of the respondent No.7 is
null and void. He further contended that the criminal cases
are pending consideration against respondents No.3 and 4
and charge-sheet has been made against them, however,
the said aspect has not been considered by respondents 1
and 6. Accordingly, he sought for interference of this Court.
5. Per contra, Sri. S.N. Ashwathnarayan, learned
Senior Counsel on behalf of Sri. S.A. Sudhindra, appearing
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for the respondent No.7 sought to justify the impugned
orders on the ground that the respondent No.7 had
purchased the land from the original owner-respondent
No.3 herein, who is the daughter of C.L. Ramaswamy and
Sita Ramaswamy and therefore, he contended that the
petitioner-Company has to establish its right over the
property in question. In this regard, he refers to the
confirmation Deed dated 15th December, 2022 executed by
the respondent No.3 and her son Manikanta in favour of the
petitioner and submitted that the petitioner cannot
approbate and reprobate on the factual aspects on record
by contending that the respondent No.3 is not a daughter
of said C.L. Ramaswamy and Smt. Sita Ramaswamy. In
this regard he places reliance on judgment of Division
Bench of this Court in the case of SMT. SUGUNA
RAJKUMAR vs. R. RAJMAL AND ANOTHER reported in
ILR 2005 KAR 1583 and judgment of Full Bench of this
Court in the case of C.N. NAGENDRA SINGH vs. THE
SPECIAL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, BANGALORE
DISTRICT AND OTHERS reported in ILR 2002 KAR 2750
and accordingly, sought for dismissal of the writ petition.
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6. Sri. V. Ananda, learned counsel appearing for the
respondent No.3 reiterating the averments made in the
statement of objections contended that the respondent
No.3 is not the daughter of C.L. Ramaswamy and Sita
Ramaswamy and respondent No.7 is the instrumental in
getting the documents through her and therefore,
contended that the compromise petition filed by the
respondent No.3 with the petitioner herein has to be
accepted.
7. In the light of the submission made by learned
counsel appearing for the parties and on careful
examination of writ papers would indicate that the
petitioner claims to be owner of the property in question as
per the Sale Deed dated 10th October, 2003. On the other
hand, the respondent No.7 had purchased the property as
per registered Sale Deed dated 17th July, 2019 (Annexure-
AE) executed by the respondent No.3. I have also noticed
the criminal complaint lodged by the petitioner against the
respondents 3 and 4 in Crime No.8/2020 before the
Seshadripuram Police Station, Bengaluru. In the backdrop
of these aspects, I have carefully examined the compromise
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petition filed by the petitioner with the respondent No.3,
wherein, at paragraph 4, it states as follows:
"The 3rd Respondent has admitted the flow of
title of the petitioner and declares that she under
mistaken understanding claimed to be the legal
heir/daughter of Smt. Sita Ramaswamy, based on
which she got the order as per Annexure-B from the
Assistant Commissioner, which was confirmed as per
order at Annexure-A by the Deputy Commissioner."
8. It is the principal argument of the petitioner that
the respondent No.3 has no authority under law to execute
the registered Sale Deed in favour of the respondent No.7
and on the other hand, it is contended that, Criminal cases
are lodged against the respondent No.3 by the petitioner;
and in the present writ petition, the petitioner has filed
compromise petition with the respondent No.3. In the
backdrop of these undisputed aspects, the petitioner-
Company has to establish its right over the property in
question as the disputed question of facts are involved in
this writ petition and that apart, the registered confirmation
Deed being executed between the respondent No.3 with the
petitioner, which demonstrates that the title to the property
is to be established by the parties. In that view of the
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matter, following the law declared by this Court in the case
of SUGUNA RAJKUMAR (supra) particularly referring to
paragraph 22 of the judgment, this Court cannot conduct a
trial to determine whether the Sale Deed executed by the
respondent No.3 in favour of the respondent No.7 is fraud
and based on the fabricated documents. Therefore,
respondents 1 and 6 have rightly relegated the petitioner-
Company to establish its right over the property in question
in a manner known to law. Therefore, I am of the view that
the petitioner has not made out a case for interference in
this writ petition. Accordingly, writ petition is dismissed.
SD/-
JUDGE
ARK