Illegal hoardings: Karnataka High Court suo motu initiates contempt proceeding against heads of BBMP and police
The Hindu
High Court of Karnataka initiates contempt proceedings against BBMP Chief Commissioner and City Police Commissioner for disobeying court orders.
Observing that the authorities have not cared to implement the court’s orders to prevent unauthorised hoardings, the High Court of Karnataka on Friday (July 12) suo motu initiated proceeding against Chief Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and the City Police Commissioner and asked them to explain why action should not be initiated against them for wilfully disobeying court’s orders.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind passed the order while suo motu, taking cognisance of a report published in a newspaper on the continuing menace of illegal hoardings and injury caused to a senior citizen as a flex had fallen on him when he was travelling on his two-wheeler last week.
Pointing out that the news report, which states that the authorities removed more than six lakh illegal hoardings, depicts “a sorry state of affairs despite the court passing several orders to prevent the erection of hoardings illegally”, the Bench said the unabated installation of illegal hoardings amounts to “brazen violation” of the orders passed by the court.
From the fact that lakhs of illegal hoardings were to be removed by the authorities, it is apparent that scant disregard has been shown for implementing the orders of the court, the Bench said, while observing that “it cannot be said that the authorities were unaware of the orders passed by the court since 2017 in the pending PIL petitions on the issue of illegal hoardings.”
Terming the conduct on the part of BBMP’s Chief Commissioner and the City Police Commissioner as “a contumacious act”, the Bench ordered the issue of notice asking them to state why action should not be initiated against them under the Contempt of Courts Act. While adjourning further hearing till July 26, the Bench also ordered the issue of notice to the State government.