Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Nov 9: The state high court, expressing anguish at the negligent attitude of subdivisional officer here, tahsildar and panchayat development officer of Belma gram panchayat in the taluk, ordered these officials to deposit Rs 50,000 each in the high court.

The high court bench presided over by Justice Vineet Kothari, which heard a writ petition challenging the order of Belma gram panchayat in the taluk, cancelling the building licence granted to an individual on Wednesday November 8, passed this order. The high court expressed anger at the failure of these three officials in providing supporting documents in original. Taking officials to task for treating directions of the court lightly, it also verbally warned the officials that their irresponsible behaviour will not be tolerated.

The court ordered the respondents in the case, Mangaluru subdivisional officer, Renuka Prasad, tahsildar, T G Guruprasad and panchayat development officer, Naveen Kumar to deposit Rs 50,000 in their personal capacities with the high court registrar. It also ordered to furnish an affidavit and all the documents relating to the case during the next hearing without fail, before adjourning hearing to November 15.

Details:
A site had been sanctioned to Gangadhar Shetty in Belma village in 1983. After Shetty died, all the documents of the site including RTC had been transferred in the name of his son, Hemanth Shetty. Hemanath filed an application to the gram panchayat in 2015 seeking permission to construct a building in the said site, but the panchayat deveopment officer refused permission, giving the reason that at the general session, gram panchayat members had passed a resolution against giving permission as requested. Hemanth thereafter approached high court, questioning the validity of this order.