BANGALORE TURF CLUB LTD., A COMPANY INCORPORATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE COMPANIES ACT, 1956 REPRESENTED HEREIN BY ITS SECRETARY, SRI S. NIRMAL PRASAD Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY AND THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PUBL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE grievance made by the petitioners in these writ petitions are in relation to the Bangalore Turf Club property and an alternative land granted in favour of the Club and seeking relief of protection of horses. Therefore, they are clubbed, heard together and are disposed of by this common order by consent of the learned Counsel for the parties.

(2.) PETITIONER - Bangalore Turb Club in W.P. No. 30663/2009 is a company registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. It is running a race club in the properties originally bearing Sy. Nos. 40 to 45, 46 and 47 of Mallenahalli and now -bearing Municipal Nos. 52, 52A and 51B of Division No. 44, Race Course Road, Bangalore. In this writ petition, petitioner -Club is challenging the action of the State Government in trying to evict it from the premises and is seeking various reliefs including a writ in the nature of declaration to declare that the grant made vide Government Order dated 07.05.1915 Annexure -F is an absolute grant covered by the Government Grants Act, 1895 and that the lease deeds executed on 21.12.1983 and 26.07.2008 vide Annexures -M and P by the State Government in favour of the petitioner are of no legal effect and therefore the Government shall not take any coercive steps to resume the land. Notices issued by the Executive Engineer, Roads and Buildings Special Division, Bangalore, calling upon the petitioner to vacate and hand over possession of the property in question upon the expiry of the lease period are also challenged.

(3.) PETITIONER -Club has traced its rights on the schedule property to the so -called absolute grant of the year 1863 from the then Government which are allegedly incorporated in the Government Order dated 07.05.1915. According to the petitioner, its predecessor, the Race Course Committee was established in the year 1830 in Bangalore. In the year 1860, as the army made a request for grant of land for strategic purposes, where the Race Course Committee was operating, the present property was given to the Race Course Committee in lieu of the existing property, in exchange. Proceedings of the Government of Mysore dated 15.08.1901 are referred to and relied upon stating that the fact of delivery of land in question by way of grant to the Race Course Committee in the year 1863 is mentioned. Copy of the proceedings of the Government dated 15.08.1901 is produced at Annexure -A. It is the further case of the petitioner that as there was doubt regarding the nature of the holding by the Race Course Committee over the land in question and as the original grant certificate of 1863 had been misplaced, it was found necessary to fix the terms of holding of the land. Consequently, after certain correspondences between the Race Course Committee and the then Government, the Government of the Maharaja of Mysore passed a Government Order dated 07.05.1915 defining the tenure of the Race Committee making it clear that it would be allowed to hold the lands for use as the Race Course on condition that the lands will be held in the sole possession of the Race Course Committee so long as they are utilized for a race course and should on no account be alienated and further that in the event of the Race Course Committee ceasing to maintain a race course on the land in question, the lands will revert to the Government. A copy of this Government Order is produced at Annexure -F. Pursuant to the same, a registered agreement was executed on 01.01.1916 between the Government of Maharaja of Mysore and two stewards viz., Lt. Col. R.D.L. Faunce and Sir Leslie Miller incorporating the terms and conditions contained in the Government Order. A copy of this agreement is produced at Annexure -G.