Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday laid down guidelines to be followed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for initiating action against any unauthorised construction.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar passed the order while allowing an application filed by Kavitha Podwal, who personally argued her case, seeking damages from the BBMP for demolishing her house at Doddanekundi in violation of a stay order by the court in April 2016.

The bench noticed that the BBMP had neither placed any material to show that proceedings under Section 462 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act were initiated for executing the confirmation order for demolition nor any ‘reasonable time’ was given to Kavitha.

“This stand of the BBMP, is far too imperious to be countenanced. Obviously, a citizen can deliver the papers only with the secretariat. Nearly 14 months have elapsed since the disposal of the writ appeal and submission of representation by the applicant. Unfortunately, in a case of this nature, wherein a citizen has approached this court with far-reaching allegation of demolition of her dwelling house, and this court has called upon the commissioner to consider the representation, the respondent authority despicably cold-shouldered the issue in a casual lackadaisical manner and in flagrant disobedience of the orders of this court,” the bench observed.