Karnataka high court tells govt to file status reporton pending Sakala applications | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court has directed the state govt to file a status report on the number of pending applications under the Sakala Services Act.The date on which such applications were filed and the estimated time required for their disposal also need to be indicated in the report, which should be filed in four weeks, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi observed in their order. The next hearing will take place on Oct 29.The court was hearing a PIL filed by S Gowri Shankar, a resident of Bengaluru. The petitioner requested the court to pass an order to the effect that interest or penalties levied on property owners due to delays by BBMP should be returned to the taxpayers or adjusted against future taxes. However, the court declined to accept this request.“We are not persuaded to accept that any such prayer can be considered in a vacuum. In the event any particular taxpayer is aggrieved by the imposition of interest despite delays on the part of the authorities, he would be entitled to seek appropriate remedies,” the bench observed.In his petition filed in 2022, Gowri Shankar also said the process to claim a refund should be formulated and communicated to eligible property owners.He sought that all pending Sakala appeals should be immediately disposed of, along with the disbursal of compensation to eligible applicants and actions initiated against wilful defaulters.
