Karnataka High Court Stays SIT Probe Into Land Encroachment Allegations Against Art of Living

The High Court of Karnataka has stayed a government order constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of large-scale land encroachment against the Art of Living Foundation (AoL) and several of its affiliated entities. The interim order was passed by Justice E.S. Indiresh on a petition filed by Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth Trust, an affiliate of the AoL, Bengaluru.

The petitioner challenged the legality of the Government Order (GO) issued on July 17, 2026, which established the SIT comprising various officers, including the Regional Commissioner, Bengaluru Division, and a retired District Judge serving as Legal Adviser to the Revenue Department. The SIT was tasked with investigating alleged land encroachment by the trust, the Art of Living Foundation, and others in Survey No. 46 of Kaggalipura village and surrounding areas.

Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Sriranga S. submitted that the petitioner and the AoL had made numerous representations to the revenue authorities seeking Podi and Hudbast — the formal boundary determination and survey — of its lands, but no action had been taken. He argued that the authorities cannot conclude that there has been encroachment of government land without first fixing the boundaries in accordance with law and conducting a joint survey of the lands.

The petition, filed through advocate Sumana Naganand, contended that the SIT was constituted without jurisdiction. It argued that Section 195 of the Karnataka Land Revenue (KLR) Act, 1964, only permits delegation of powers to officers subordinate to the government and does not provide for the constitution of an SIT. Similarly, Section 8 of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition (KLGP) Act, 2011, only authorises the government to appoint an officer not below the rank of Tahsildar for the administration and implementation of the Act, and does not empower it to create an investigative body.

The petition further pointed out that even Shirastedars have been appointed as members of the SIT, though the law does not authorise the appointment of an officer below the rank of a Tahsildar. It also contended that the appointment of a retired District Judge as a “Litigation Management Consultant” for the SIT is contrary to the provisions of the KLR and KLGP Acts.

The petition argued that the special court constituted under the KLGP Act has the power to take cognisance of land encroachments, but the government, without initiating any proceedings before the special court, arbitrarily constituted the SIT.

Pointing out that the GO refers to a report submitted by the Regional Commissioner, Amlan Aditya Biswas, who on July 7 wrote to the government stating that the trust and others had prima facie encroached upon government land, the petition contended that appointing the same Regional Commissioner as the head of the SIT is discriminatory in nature.

Though the GO cited an order passed by a Division Bench of the high court in September 2025 in a PIL directing the authorities to take action in accordance with law on the alleged encroachments, the petition contended that all actions initiated thereafter were taken without following due process of law.

It was also brought to the court’s notice that criminal proceedings initiated against one of the functionaries of the trust for the alleged encroachment are pending before the court. The high court’s interim stay will remain in effect until further orders.