Karnataka High Court upholds acquisition of additional land for expansion of Bengaluru central prison

The High Court ruled that the government has the latitude to determine the land required for a genuine public purpose, including prison expansion to address overcrowding at the existing facility.

A Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka has upheld the final notification issued by the State government in 2013 acquiring additional lands in Naganathapura village for expanding the Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara.

The Bench, comprising Justice D.K. Singh and Justice H. Shanthi Bhushan, while allowing the appeals filed by the State government, has set aside the May 2, 2025, judgment of a single judge bench, which had quashed the final notification issued in August 2013 under Section 6(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

The government in 2012 issued a preliminary notification for the acquisition of additional lands to expand the prison and its infrastructure, including staff quarters, and to maintain a 200-metre buffer zone from the outer wall of the prison as per prison norms.

Meanwhile, a Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLAO), after considering the objections from the owners of the lands on the 2012 notification, submitted a report to the government pointing out difficulties in acquiring those lands, citing the high cost of acquisition, the existence of RCC buildings, residential layouts, a 220 KV high-tension power line, etc. The SLAO had also suggested to the government utilising lands available with the Prisons Department at Devanahalli for the construction of the prison.

However, the government, after considering the SLAO’s report, issued a final notification in August 2013, and the landowners challenged this notification before a single judge, who in May 2025 quashed the 2013 notification and directed the government to reconsider the matter based on the report submitted by the SLAO and after considering the objections raised by the landowners.

Overturning the single judge’s view, the Bench held that the SLAO’s report had indeed considered the landowners’ objections, including the availability of alternative land at Devanahalli. The Bench emphasised that the SLAO’s recommendations are not binding on the government while pointing out that the government has to independently apply its mind before issuing the final notification.

The Bench also ruled that the government has latitude in determining the land required for a genuine public purpose, prison expansion, buffer-zone security, and staff quarters to address overcrowding of the existing prison facility exceeding 5,000 inmates.

“... the acquisition of the notified lands for the expansion of the existing Central Prison serves a bona fide public purpose and cannot be set aside merely on account of hyper-technicalities in the procedure, in the absence of any established violation of a mandatory statutory requirement,” the Bench said.

However, the Bench directed the government and its authorities to take necessary steps to address the existence of RCC buildings, residential layouts, engineering workshops, and developed sites on the subject notified lands, as referred to in the SLAO’s 2013 report, in accordance with law.