High Court of Karnataka
Describing the acquisition of several acres of land in 2001 in favor of a private gutka company for setting up an IT park and other development activities as a “broad daylight dacoity of poor farmers’ land by state authorities in favor of land sharks”, the Karnataka High Court set aside a 13-year-old verdict allowing the acquisition of the land in favor of the company.
“Everything seems to be staged to help and create a land bank for real estate development for private benefit at the expense of poor farmers and public interest,” a division bench comprising Justice DK Singh and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju observed in its February 27 verdict allowing the appeals filed by defeated Patel Jeetalal Ramji and his legal heirs.
The bench delivered the verdict and set aside the 2013 judgment of a single judge which allowed the acquisition of a certain portion of land in Devarabeesanahalli and Kariyammana Agrahara villages in Varthur hobli in favor of Royal Fragrances Private Limited (RFPL), New Delhi, on the company’s plea against the 2009 acquisition of certain land by the state government.
Sequence of events
The bench noted the sequence of events when RFPL, a gutka company, applied to the state Single Window Agency (SLSWA) in 2001 for 12 acres of land to set up an IT park in these villages, albeit without any information technology background.
The application submitted by SLSWA was largely blank, lacking details of software experience, technical capability etc. Yet within 18 days, approval was given to allot 29 acres of land against the required 12 acres and the acquisition process was speedily initiated through the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), the Bench pointed out.
The application filed by the company itself was incomplete and should have been thrown out, the Bench said.
“It may also be noted that the speed with which the KIADB and the state machinery acted in acquiring land against the procedure prescribed for the society would throw light on the mistrust, arbitrariness and illegality in acquiring valuable land and dispossessing farmers of their land holdings for land mafias” without the procedure of land acquisition, the Bench observed.
CEO notice
The Bench also noted that the then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KIADB had submitted a report to the state government in October 2004 warning that the land mafia was involved in grabbing farmers’ land and urged the government to investigate the background of the companies and assess their software requirements and experience before awarding any land.
The CEO’s report also included the names of RFPL and two other companies that had joint directors – Mithilesh Kumar Tripathi and Santhosh Garg – and other private companies, making it clear that none of these companies or those associated with them had any prior experience in software manufacturing.
“If the land is allotted to an unknown entity who has no expertise or experience in software or computer related activities, it is clear that the purpose for which the land was acquired was a foreign purpose and not for a public purpose…” the Bench observed.
The SLSWA sanctioned 100 acres and 25 acres of land respectively for two other companies in which the two persons and their family members were directors, in Devarabisanahalli, the Bench observed.
Published – 28 Feb 2026 19:41 IST
