Karnataka HC Sets Aside Vacation Bench Order in KIADB-Embassy East Land Dispute

The Karnataka High Court has revived a writ petition challenging proceedings involving the company, setting aside an earlier order that had effectively brought the case to a close and restoring interim protections that existed before the petition’s dismissal.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha on June 15 allowed a writ appeal filed by Bengaluru resident Tejraj Gulecha and restored it for fresh consideration.

The bench set aside a May 12 order passed by a single judge, reopening litigation involving Embassy East Business Park Ltd and the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).

The order was passed as a consent order after counsel for the parties agreed that the earlier judgment should be set aside and the writ petition restored for fresh consideration without any observations on the merits.

The Land Dispute

The dispute centres around a 78-acre parcel at Kadugodi Industrial Area in Bengaluru's Whitefield, reportedly valued at over ₹3,000 crore, which KIADB sought to resume through an order dated March 16.

EEBPL challenged the resumption order before the Karnataka High Court by way of a writ petition, leading to a single bench allowing the petition on May 12, staying KIADB's move to take the land back.

The land has drawn additional attention after approximately 25 acres were separately transferred to semiconductor equipment manufacturer Lam Research in a transaction reportedly worth ₹1,125 crore, according to ANI.

The Division Bench Proceedings

The division Bench was hearing an appeal filed by Bengaluru-based businessman Tejraj Gulecha against the Single Judge's May order, according to the ANI report.

During the hearing, Gulecha challenged the propriety of the matter being taken up during the court's summer vacation despite an earlier direction that it would be listed after the court reopened, The Economic Times reported.

The Division Bench questioned whether there was sufficient urgency to justify the vacation bench's intervention.

After the hearing, both parties agreed before the court that the May order could be set aside without any observations on the merits of the dispute, said the filing.

The court further directed that the undertaking furnished by KIADB before the Single Judge, that no coercive action shall be taken, shall continue to remain in force, according to the filing.

The matter will now return to the appropriate roster bench on June 22, where the challenge against actions connected to Embassy East Business Park and KIADB is expected to be heard afresh.

While the court has refrained from commenting on the merits, the latest consent order ensures that the controversy remains very much alive and subject to further judicial examination.