It was alleged in the petition that the land, allotted by the State government to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in 1994, was a different land but the building of the passport seva kendra had been constructed on the land used as a playground.
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The High Court of Karnataka has dismissed a PIL petition, which had alleged that the passport seva kendra situated in Koramangala was constructed illegally on the government land used as a playground for several years.
“No zonal plans have been produced by the petitioner that reflect that the subject land is a playground or an open area,” said a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha while dismissing the petition, filed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Youth, Social and Cultural Welfare Trust, Koramangala.
Allegation
It was alleged in the petition that the land, allotted by the State government to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in 1994, was a different land but the building of the passport seva kendra had been constructed on the land used as a playground. The petitioner had sought a direction from the court to immediately demolish and remove the structures put up by the MEA.
However, the MEA pointed out to the court that there was an error in mentioning the survey number in the order of allotment of land issued by the State government and the error was rectified in 2023 after noticing that the three acres of land allotted to the MEA.
The Bench also noted that the State government, in its 2023 order, had clearly mentioned the three acres of lands allotted to the MEA in 10 different survey numbers of Koramangala village of Begur hobli.
Valid concern
Though the Bench found justification in petitioner’s concern that open lands in the city are shrinking, it said that the MEA could not be interdicted from utilising the remaining vacant land allotted to it by the State government.
Published – February 03, 2026 08:58 pm IST
