K’taka HC quashes the allotment of CA site by KHB to trust headed by MP’s wife

Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court on Thursday, September 30 quashed the allotment of a civic amenity (CA) site in Bengaluru to a trust headed by the wife of BJP MP Umesh G Jadhav and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) for handing over the plot worth Rs 10 crore at a meager sum of Rs 22 lakh.

A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, directed the government to conduct a fact-finding inquiry and termed the Karnataka Housing Board’s actions a clear case of favoritism.

The court added that in case officers are found guilty, the KHB should take appropriate action to hold a departmental enquiry against them and recover the cost. This exercise should be completed within 6 months.

Originally the site allotment was made in 2004 and the lease was executed in favor of Murthy Charitable Trust, of which Umesh Jadhav’s wife Gayatri is the president. The allotment was done with one of the conditions being that the site be used for educational and public use in two years.

As no construction was put up for 16 years, KHB executed an absolute sale deed in 2020 for 278 sq meter, including additional land, for Rs 21.87 lakh.

Adinarayana Shetty, a resident of Koramangala contended that KHB sold a CA site worth Rs 10 crore to the influential person.