From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Mar 24: The State Government has appointed Justice H N Narayan, retired judge of High Court of Karnataka, as the chairman of a Special Court, which was established for speedy enquiry into land grabbing cases and trial of cases in respect of the ownership of land.

The Special Court set up by the State Government has the jurisdiction over the entire State and has its headquarters is in Bengaluru.

The other members of the Special Court are: Justice RayappaHanumanthappa Reddy and Balakrisha B, both retired judges of district court, MunishMoudgil, IAS, commissioner, survey, settlement, and land records department and Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, IAS, Special Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban.

According to a notification issued by the State Government, the Chairman and Members of the Special Court shall have a three-year term.

It may be recalled that freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, former JD(S) MLA A T Ramaswamy and former Minister B T LalithaNaik, had staged protests in front of chamber of Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra at the State secretariat demanding the constitution of the Special Court on several occasions.

Finally, the Siddaramaiah ministry decided to constitute the Special Court under section 7 of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011. It would deal with all cases related to land grabbing and offences.

The Special Court would look into alleged land encroachments of both government and forest lands by individuals in cities as well rural areas. It would also hear cases related to land encroachments identified by the A T Ramaswamy and T S R Subramanian committees.

The Karnataka Government’s Revenue Department would take necessary action to provide all facilities and infrastructure including setting up the Special Court in a suitable building and ensure its operationalization, the notification said.