The High Court of Karnataka on Friday asked the State government and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to file their responses on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition, which has questioned the rationale behind making e-khata mandatory for the registration of properties when the BBMP has not yet issued e-khatas for the majority of the properties in the city.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind orally told the advocates representing the government and the BBMP to file responses without issuing notice on the petition, filed by Gowrishankar. S, a resident of Bengaluru.
Economic impact
Pointing out that not allowing registration of properties without e-khata is economically affecting a large number of people, he sought a direction from the Court to hold as void the circular issued by the governor making e-khata mandatory for BBMP limits as the civic body has not issued e-khata to all property owners in the city.
As the onus is on the property owners to secure e-khata by applying through the BBMP’s portal even in cases where the property owners possess valid khatas in physical forms, the e-khata can be made mandatory only when the BBMP ensures issuance of e-khata for all the properties, the petitioner has stated in the petition.
Self-declaration
The petitioner has said that the government should make provision for registration of properties even in the absence of e-khata by taking self-declaration from the people. The registration of properties should be allowed in cases where the BBMP has not yet issued draft e-khata, and in cases where the property owners have applied for e-khata but are pending for various reasons.
The petitioner has also pointed out that the activity of buying and selling properties has come down by 60% in the city as no property could be registered sans e-khata.
Published – December 14, 2024 02:04 am IST
