KOPPAL: The Dharwad High Court Bench delivered a ruling, overturning the Koppal Municipal Council‘s decision to deny a site transfer from a deceased wife’s name to her husband’s, where the denial was based on the town planning department’s non-approval.
Srinivas Bheemanna Menadal, a resident of Koppal, submitted a petition (WP-105358) invoking Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, and sought to invalidate the endorsement issued on Aug 16, 2024, by Koppal City Municipal Council commissioner. He requested a writ of mandamus to facilitate the khata transfer for plot no.134 (Municipal MB No.9-7-680/762) located near Basaveshwar Circle in the city.
The petitioner purchased the plot in his wife’s name through a registered sale deed dated Dec 13, 2006, from Chandsab Kavalur. Following his wife’s death on Nov 15, 2023, he sought to change the khata to his name providing evidence of tax payments. The municipal commissioner rejected his request on August 16, 2024, citing the layout’s lack of Town Planning Authority approval.
The petitioner argued that the rejection was unlawful and arbitrary, given his legitimate purchase of the property and its previous transfer to his wife’s name. To support his case, he cited a High Court judgment in B Kemparaju vs Bengaluru Development Authority and Another (Writ Petition No.18671/2022, dated July 11, 2023).
The municipal commissioner presented govt circulars dated Mar 22, 2017, and Jan 5, 2018, stating properties without proper planning authority permissions were ineligible for khata issuance and could face legal action.
The petitioner pointed out that the coordinate bench’s decision in B Kemparaju vs Bengaluru Development Authority and Another, WP No.18671/2022, dated July 11, 2023, established that the khata registration cannot be denied on the grounds of layout maintenance concerns. However, the commissioner maintained that this ruling was relevant only to layouts approved by the BDA and did not extend to private layouts.
Examining B Kemperaju’s case, the court noted that khata registration cannot be refused due to layout maintenance issues or civic area concerns. Any such violations could be addressed separately through legal channels.
After evaluating these aspects, Judge Pradeep Singh Yerur remarked in his order that the court did not identify any grounds for the respondent to reject the khata change. He accepted the petition and revoked the challenged endorsement issued by the respondent. The judge specified a four-week time frame for the khata alteration to be completed in favour of the petitioner. Santosh B Malligawad represented the petitioner, while RK Kulkarni appeared for the respondent.
