The Dharwad Bench of the High Court issued a directive on Tuesday, ordering the Belagavi City corporation to return land appropriated for a road in Shahapur to its original owners. Suppose the land is not returned by September 22. In that case, a penalty of ₹5 lakh will be imposed on the Belagavi City commissioner and provincial officials, with further warnings that a note would be added to their service records.
The court instructed that police be deployed during the handover and warned that any resistance to the process would result in immediate arrests until the handover was complete. The next hearing has been set for September 23.
The Belagavi City corporation’s lawyers argued that the road was not formally transferred to the corporation. However, the court emphasized that the land must be returned by Sunday, September 22, with the process likely to start as early as Thursday.
The court further raised concerns about the potential closure of the road and the waste of public funds, as the 23-gunta stretch on either side of the road had been improperly utilized. A ₹20 crore compensation claim by the petitioners, led by Adv. K. L. Patil, is also being taken seriously by the court.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the bench reprimanded BCC Commissioner Ashok Dudagunti, warning him of a potential adverse entry in his service record, which could hinder future promotions. The court also imposed a ₹5 lakh penalty for harassing a private citizen by unlawfully acquiring their land and failing to provide compensation, in direct violation of a court order.
Despite pleas from the Smart City Scheme’s legal team, the court refused to delay the order, making it clear that punitive action would follow if the land was not returned respectfully. The court acknowledged the unusual nature of the case and highlighted the urgency for compliance before the next hearing.
“We can’t tolerate such robbery of private land by govt institutions and harassment of citizens,” the court observed.
Court should have also considered how narrow the road will be just for that stretch after the land is returned. Now that the road has already been constructed, why can’t court just order the corporation/state govt to pay the compensation and finish it off? Why did the court give an option to return the land back to the owner?
Situations like these are taking Belgaum backwards. Hubli-Dharwad is already surging ahead.