The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) seeking permission to allow more buses inside Bandipur forest at night.
In 2009, the court had banned the vehicular movement at night on two roads bisecting the Bandipur forest in Chamarajanagar district. The KSRTC had moved the court seeking the lifting of this ban.
The court order, however, did not completely ban the movement of buses of KSRTC, but had restricted their number. Aggrieved with the order and in the backdrop of increased demand for running buses at night through the forest, the KSRTC had asked the court to allow more buses to pass through the forest.
After hearing the objections filed by the Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner, Justice B S Patil rejected the KSRTC’s appeal and dismissed the petition.
The vehicular traffic was banned during the night in 2009 by the then Deputy Commissioner following several complaints of death of animals in accidents at night. The ban was, however, withdrawn after the MLA objected saying that the restriction on vehicle traffic would affect the businessmen.
After the withdrawal of the ban, L Srinivasa Bana, a resident of the city, had filed a public interest petition before the court stating that continuous stream of vehicles had led to death of several wild animals and this had led to the imposition of the ban on movement of vehicles, Hence the ban should continue, he pleaded. A Division Bench of Chief Justice P D Dinakaran and Justice V G Sabhahit had upheld the notification of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Chamarajanagar district closing two roads passing through the Bandipur forest for vehicular traffic at night (from 10 pm to 6 am) in July 2009.
Notice to Couple in Sexual Assault Case
The ourt on Monday issued a notice to the victim and her husband during a hearing of a case filed by Ramachandrapur Mutt head Raghaveshwara Bharathi Swami seeking the quashing of the sexual abuse case filed by them.
A Division Bench, headed by Chief Justice D H Waghela, also asked the petitioner to add the victim and her husband as party as the Swami’s advocate made several allegations against the couple.
Earlier, a single judge bench had dismissed the petition seeking the quashing of the FIR filed against Swami.
Following this, the Swami moved the Division Bench of the Chief Justice.
