Bengaluru: In a new twist to legal battle between the state government and Bangalore Club, who are locked horns over ownership of the club, two advocates have approached the high court pleading to be made parties in the matter by allowing their intervening applications claiming that the property in question is actually a part of defence estates and neither the state’s nor the club’s claim can be upheld.
Advocates Shashank Kumar and Chaluvaraja G.V. have filed the intervening application. The court has adjourned the original petition along with interlocutory pleas, including the intervening applications by the two advocates, to August 20. Meanwhile, the state has been told to abide by its gentleman’s agreement, not to take over the property till further orders.
In their application, the advocates have submitted that they have sent an e-mail to the Directorate General of Defence Estates, Ministry of Defence, bringing to their notice of their lost property while seeking the court to allow them to be made parties to put forth the true material facts of the case.
“The property in question was purchased by the General Committee of Bangalore United Services Club constituted for the British military regiment under a registration sale deed dated August 30, 1873. It was owned by the British Officers’ Club and there was no Indian civilians having any right or interest in the club or the property whatsoever. The Bangalore United Services Club constituted the General Committee of British Army Officers. After the British left in 1947, the entire property was vested with the Defence establishment. But a few ‘elite’ civilians of Bangalore city formed a group of their own and managed to usurp and unlawfully squat on the defence property. They renamed the property as Bangalore Club and are commercially exploiting the RS 3,000-crore property. The British never assigned any right or privilege to the Indian civilians to occupy the land,” according to the application.
The advocates have stated that the petitions filed by the club and the state government are not maintainable and are liable to be dismissed and sought to restore the property to the Defence establishment.
